Venezuela: On 27 March US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the US State Department remains “deeply concerned along with regional partners by the Venezuelan National Electoral Council’s (CNE) decision to prevent democratic opposition parties from registering successive candidates for Venezuela’s upcoming presidential election.” The statement adds that the CNE’s acceptance of “only those opposition candidates with whom [President Nicolás] Maduro and his representatives feel comfortable runs counter to competitive and inclusive elections that the Venezuelan people and international community will view as legitimate”. This follows the CNE’s disqualification of candidates such as María Corina Machado from the 28 July elections. In a statement, Miller calls on “Maduro and his representatives to ensure international observer access, end the jailing and harassment of civil society and opposition members, allow all candidates to run and campaign, update the electoral registry, and release all unjustly detained political prisoners”. He adds that “actions that run counter to the spirit and letter of the Barbados Agreement [in which the Venezuelan government agreed to democratic concessions in exchange for an easing of US sanctions] will have consequences”.
Haiti: On 27 March US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer met with leaders of US-based Black civil rights groups to “have a dialogue about the crisis in Haiti and US efforts to support the Haitian people”, according to a White House statement. The statement adds that Finer outlined the steps taken by the US to work with “Haitian stakeholders and international partners to address instability in Haiti”, including by supporting the United Nations-authorised “Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti and lifting up Haitian-led solutions to the political impasse”. The statement adds that additionally White House officials shared President Joe Biden’s authorisation to provide urgently needed assistance to Haitian security forces to aid in the protection of civilians and critical infrastructure against organised and targeted gang attacks. The previous day White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Biden had approved an assistance package for Haitian security forces for up to US$10m, which “draws from excess Department-Department of Homeland Security stocks [and] may include weapons, ammunition, bulletproof vests, and helmets”. Jean-Pierre said that the support is “intended to help Haitians restore security, order, and the rule of law and protect civilians, while at the same time remaining committed to supporting Haitian-led effort for a peaceful transition of power”.
Mexico: On 27 March Mexico’s Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena highlighted the suspension by a US appeals court of Texas’ controversial SB4 law, which allows state law enforcement to arrest migrants who illegally cross the US-Mexico border. The law briefly took effect on 19 March after the US Supreme Court froze the injunction initially imposed by an appeals court which then reimposed the injunction. In a post on social media announcing the US appeals’ court’s decision, Bárcena included an excerpt from the legal document dictating the law’s suspension, which highlights Mexico’s protests against SB4 and the potential for “international friction”. The law will be blocked from implementation while the case is being litigated. “For nearly 150 years, the Supreme Court has held that the power to control immigration - the entry, admission, and removal of noncitizens - is exclusively a federal power”, wrote Chief Judge Priscilla Richman in the circuit court’s decision. “Despite this fundamental axiom, S. B. 4 creates separate, distinct state criminal offenses and related procedures regarding unauthorised entry of noncitizens into Texas from outside the country and their removal”. During a 27 March press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre commented on the decision, saying the US administration “welcome[s]” the Fifth Circuit’s ruling. “We have said from the beginning that SB 4 is an extreme unconstitutional law that will burden law enforcement and make communities less safe”, Jean-Pierre said.
Paraguay: On 27 March the US State Department released a media note highlighting a meeting which took place the previous day in Washington D.C. between US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Paraguay’s foreign minister, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, in which the two reaffirmed bilateral relations. According to the US State Department media note, the two highlighted “broad alignment between the US and Paraguay on key foreign policy priorities, including supporting Ukraine in its self-defence against Russia’s war of aggression and standing for democracy in Venezuela”. Both sides underlined the importance of “supporting the Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti and underscored the urgent need to combat corruption, protect democratic institutions, and strengthen bilateral cybersecurity cooperation”. The two however reiterated mutual concerns over efforts to repeal the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s scientific evaluation and risk analysis that resulted in a final rule to allow for the importation of fresh beef from Paraguay into the US under certain conditions. This is a reference to a US senate resolution passed last month blocking the rule.
