ACLED Regional Overview Latin America & the Caribbean: April 2024 – Haiti

Argentina: Protesters take to the streets against education spending cuts

Large protests erupted across Argentina decrying President Javier Milei’s education spending cuts. Milei’s government had announced in December that higher education would cease to be free. In 2024, he assigned public universities the same budget as 2023, but given the 211% inflation increase experienced by the country in the past year, the amount equates to around a 70% reduction in real resources.1 The austerity measure, combined with the roughly 25,000 layoffs of public administration personnel and the freezing of professors’ salaries, sparked concerns about the system’s sustainability. Around one million people joined the protests organized by students, alumni, unions, and political parties in all of the country’s 24 federal districts on 23 April, with at least 450,000 in Buenos Aires alone.2 Although they defied a government ban on occupying public lands that promised to allow security forces to dissolve demonstrations, the protesters marched peacefully. Milei defended his actions, but the volume of the protests — also recorded in areas where Milei won by great margins, such as Rosario and Córdoba3 — speaks to growing discontent with his austerity policies from a widening array of sectors amid rising poverty rate.4

Colombia: FARC-EMC creates a new military bloc amid internal divisions and bumpy peace negotiations

The Central General Staff (EMC) of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced the formation of a new military bloc called the Central Bloc led by Commander Isaías Pardo,5 aiming to strengthen its presence in Huila, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, and Quindío departments. This move responds to what the EMC leadership perceives as increasing military aggression against the Western Bloc led by Commander Jacobo Arenas,6 after the suspension of the bilateral ceasefire in certain regions in March 2024. Clashes between security forces and FARC dissident groups have been on the rise in recent months. In April, the conflict also grew deadlier, with reported fatalities more than doubling in April compared to the month prior amid rising clashes in the departments of Cauca, Nariño, and Valle del Cauca. High Commissioner for Peace Otty Patiño described the move as an “internal reorganization” of the EMC, potentially facilitating better command and control amid ongoing negotiations.7 Nevertheless, the negotiation process between the EMC and the government faces ongoing instability due to internal divisions within the group. Negotiations with factions led by Iván Lozada (known as Iván Mordisco) have frozen,8 while the government claims that talks remain active with the Jorge Briceño and the Magdalena Medio blocs.9

Ecuador: ​​Police raid the Mexican embassy, sparking international outcry

On 5 April, Ecuadorian police, defying diplomatic norms, raided the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest former Vice President Jorge Glas, who had sought political asylum there since December 2023.10 Glas had spent five years in prison for corruption and was likely to be arrested again on embezzlement charges, accusations that he deemed political persecution. President Daniel Noboa feared that his efforts to combat impunity would be undermined by Glas’ escape to Mexico.11 Additionally, by showing a commitment to crack down on corruption and crime, Noboa was seeking to boost domestic support ahead of a referendum his government organized on 21 April, centered on security-related questions.12 The raid on the Mexican embassy sparked a diplomatic crisis. Mexico cut ties with Ecuador and filed a complaint at the International Court of Justice, seeking accountability from Ecuador for violating international law.13 In response, Ecuador’s government has defended its actions and accused Mexico of misusing its diplomatic premises to shelter a convicted criminal.14 The issue transcended the two countries’ bilateral relations. With 29 votes in favor, the Organization of American States issued a resolution condemning the raid at the embassy, and Nicaragua joined Mexico in cutting diplomatic ties with Quito.15

Haiti: ​​Despite a decrease in violence, gangs and political rivalries continue to hinder political stability

Amid political negotiations to form the nine-member Transitional Presidential Council (CPT) at the beginning of April, ACLED records a decrease in gang-related violence compared to the peak recorded in March. Despite the decline, members of the volatile gang alliance Viv Ansanm, led by Jimmy Chérizier, launched attacks days before 25 April when the transitional council was sworn into office, seeking to prevent the installation of the council and sending direct threats against its members.16 Notably, in April alone, ACLED records seven clashes between security forces and gangs in the surroundings of the National Palace, including on the day of the ceremony for the council’s installation. On 30 April, members of the CPT chose Edgard Leblanc Fils as president of the body. However, on the same day, four of the seven members of the CPT also surprisingly appointed council member Fritz Belaire as the country’s interim prime minister, sparking fresh divisions. Three other members claim that the appointment does not respect the procedure set forth during the creation of the CPT. These divergences expose the ongoing power struggles between Haiti’s political elites that continue to hinder the country’s path back to political stability, a precondition to addressing the dire security and humanitarian situation.

Mexico: CJNG drives high levels of violence in Chiapas and Tabasco

Targeted attacks against civilians drove a 21% increase in violence in Chiapas in April relative to the month prior. Violence in Chiapas has been on the rise since 2023, following an escalation of competition between the Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) over the control of drug and migrant trafficking routes and the border with Guatemala. In the southern municipality of Tapachula, armed men reportedly killed at least seven civilians in separate attacks. They also kidnapped 15 migrants, who were released after paying a ransom and were allowed to continue their journey into the north of the country. Local organizations have denounced a rise in extortion targeting migrants as part of criminal groups’ turf war over the control of routes connecting the southern border to the north.17

Elsewhere, in Tabasco state, violent actions involving the CJNG contributed to a 25% increase in violence in April compared to March, making it the most violent month since ACLED began collecting data on Mexico in 2018. ACLED records violent actions in the Centro municipality, including a clash between CJNG gunmen and National Guard forces that reportedly left three dead. Furthermore, on 22 April, two people were reportedly killed, and military and National Guard officers arrested four members of a criminal group in an armed clash in Cárdenas municipality. Meanwhile, ACLED records further clashes and roadblocks set by criminal groups in the Cardenas and Huimanguillo municipalities, located at the border with Chiapas. The CJNG and the Barredora gang operate in this area, controlling extortions and the traffic of stolen fuel.18 Since December 2023, ACLED has recorded an increasing trend in violence in this state. In February, the CJNG announced an offensive against La Barredora, a group believed to be formerly affiliated with the CJNG itself.19

Paraguay: Students protest over feared budget cuts

On 4 April, Paraguay’s Senate approved a reform proposed by the government of Santiago Peña in January called ‘Zero Hunger,’ sparking a wave of protests and a 74% increase in demonstrations compared to the month prior. The law promised to eradicate malnutrition in schools, which affects three in every 10 children in Paraguay, by introducing a new centralized school feeding program managed by a newly created council overseen by the Ministry of Social Development.20 High school and university students criticized the reform over concerns that the financing of school meals would draw from existing resources that support education, health, and research programs. The demonstrating students suggested that the reform would in turn affect subsidies to educational facilities and hamper access to free education. Students started protesting around the day of the vote in Congress and continued to take to the streets throughout the month. Protests occurred in 16 of the country’s 18 departments but were concentrated in the Central and Alto Paraná departments and Asunción federal district. Teachers, pensioners, and union workers also joined the students’ rallies, which were peaceful and included the occupation of university buildings. President Peña, in office since August 2023, initially downplayed the protests by arguing that they were carried out by a “noisy minority” but then engaged in talks with some student sectors and committed to ensuring sufficient funding through the ‘Zero Duties’ program.