On June 27, 2023, Nahel M, a 17-year-old French boy, was fatally shot by police in the suburbs of France. According to BBC, he was shot at the wheel for driving away during a police traffic check. According to CNN, the prosecutor of the case, Pascal Prache, said that the officer claims he fired the gun in fear that Nahel would run someone over. The officer that shot him is now under formal investigation for voluntary homicide and is being contained in preliminary custody.
On Tuesday, April 11, criminal charges were brought against Mexico’s top immigration official, Francisco Garduño, for the fire that killed 40 people in March 2023, NPR reported. Five other lower-ranking officials have also been charged, as well as a Venezuelan migrant. The fire occurred on March 27 in a facility housing 68 men, CNN explained.
On March 27, 2023, at least 38 migrants from Central and South America died in a fire at a migrant detention center in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Reuters reported. According to NPR, a surveillance video, which was posted online, shows detainees trapped in a locked cell while uniformed agents left the building without aiding them. BBC reported that the agents ignored the men trying to escape the fire while they yelled and banged on the door. After the smoke filled the room, however, it is unknown what took place at the facility.
The U.S. was involved in Latin American politics throughout the 20th century, which has had a profound impact on Indigenous citizens in Central America. This influence was discussed in “U.S. Policy in the Global South,” a keynote speech that took place on Sept. 19, 2022, as part of the “Confronting Empire: 2022-2023 Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series” presented by the University of Massachusetts Amherst. During the event, American broadcast journalist Amy Goodman interviewed Dr. Rigoberta Menchú Tum, an Indigenous Guatemalan activist, and Vincent Bevins, a journalist who covers global violence fueled by the U.S. against communist movements.
