- Regional Isolation of Syria May End
Soon - Peru Announces Definitive
Withdrawal of Ambassador From
Colombia - Tragedy in Ciudad Juárez
Highlights Dangers Faced by
Migrants
Regional Isolation of Syria
May End Soon
Saudi Arabia may
invite Syria to attend the upcoming Arab League summit
in Riyadh in May, reinforcing the trend of Syria’s
reintegration into regional politics after over a decade of
isolation.
Diplomatic relations between the two
countries were severed in 2012 when Saudi Arabia withdrew
its ambassador from Syria, claiming that the Bashar Assad
government had killed civilians during anti-government
protests and the ensuing civil war.
Later, Saudi
Arabia and some other Gulf countries such as Qatar and the
United Arab Emirates openly
supported U.S. calls to provide armaments and other aid
to the anti-Assad forces and asked for his removal from
power.
While not officially confirmed, Saudi
Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud
is likely to visit Damascus in the coming weeks to formally
invite Syria to the summit. The Arab League summit is
scheduled for May 19.
Saudi Arabia and Syria have
agreed to reopen
their respective embassies in Damascus and Riyadh after
Ramadan this year.
While the civil war is still
ongoing, the Syrian government—with the support of Russia
and Iran—has been able to regain control over most of the
country’s territory. There are already talks of Turkey
withdrawing support to the remaining rebels who control a
part of northwest Syria.
With the certainty that Assad
will win the war, Russia has been pushing
for a Syrian rapprochement with other Arab countries, and
the Saudi moves toward the country may be attributed
to that effort. However, there is little doubt that this is
part of a larger realignment in the region’s
politics.
***
Peru Announces Definitive
Withdrawal of Ambassador From Colombia
On March 29,
Peru’s de facto government, led by Dina Boluarte,
announced the “definitive
withdrawal” of its ambassador from Colombia following
statements from Colombian President Gustavo Petro in support
of ousted Peruvian President Pedro Castillo.
The
Peruvian Foreign Ministry stated
that the decision was made in response to “the repetitive
interventionist and offensive comments” from President
Petro, arguing that he had been “distorting the reality”
by ignoring what happened on December 7, 2022.
On that
date, Castillo was ousted in a legislative coup and
subsequently arrested after he tried to dissolve Congress
and rule by decree. He has since been imprisoned in the
Barbadillo prison in Lima.
Boluarte’s March 29
decision came days after Petro lamented Castillo’s absence
at the Ibero-American Summit, which took place on March 24
and 25 in the Dominican Republic. Petro said, “[Pedro
Castillo] should have been here, [but] he is in prison. They
took him out with a coup.”
Since Castillo’s
forcible removal and illegal arrest, Petro has called
several times for the former president’s immediate release
and criticized the Boluarte government for violating his
political rights. Petro has also been vocal against the brutal
repression unleashed by the Boluarte government against
the tens of thousands of Peruvians who have been in the
streets for the past three and a half months demanding her
resignation, the closure of the right-wing-dominated
Congress, advanced general elections by the end of the year,
and a referendum on a constituent assembly to draft a new
constitution.
Leaders of other nations have also
supported Castillo against the Peruvian right wing,
including Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Mexico, and
Argentina.
***
Tragedy in Ciudad Juárez
Highlights Dangers Faced by Migrants
On the night of
March 27, at least 39 migrants from various Central and
South American countries died after a fire broke out in the
dormitory of a migrant center in Ciudad Juárez,
Mexico.
Due to the “Safe Third Country”
immigration agreement, signed with the U.S. under threats of
economic sanctions during the government of former President
Donald Trump, the Mexican government has been stepping up
efforts to contain irregular migration flow to the U.S.
Almost all centers operated by the National Institute of
Migration (INM) are overcrowded.
The Mexican
authorities have urged the U.S. government several times to
commit funds to Central America and southern Mexico to boost
development and curb migration as well as to implement
measures making it easier for migrants to get jobs in the
U.S. However, the Biden administration has yet to take
concrete measures to address the crisis.
Images
released in the aftermath of the fire showed dozens of
lifeless bodies covered in silver thermal blankets on the
ground outside the facility. Video footage showed emergency
workers attending to survivors gasping for breath.
The
fire is considered to be one of the deadliest ever to hit a
migration center in Mexico. The tragic event has once again
highlighted the multitude of dangers facing the hundreds of
thousands of migrants and refugees who set off on perilous
journeys to the U.S. each year to escape extreme poverty,
unemployment, and a lack of opportunities in their countries
in the hope of a better
life.