Welcome to The New Monroe Doctrine, where I catch you up on some of the big stories happening south of our border that you might have missed this week.  

1. Catch and release in Venezuela 

On Thursday, I reported that the Delcy Rodríguez regime had kidnapped former opposition mayor Javier Oropeza. He'd just returned to Venezuela after living in Spain for two years in exile. He'd fled the country when the Nicolás Maduro regime charged him with terrorism and other stuff that they use to detain political prisoners. The charges were dropped upon his arrival, but shortly after, he was kidnapped in the streets by men in unmarked vehicles, potentially members of the SEBIN, Venezuela's intelligence and internal security agency. 

Oropeza has now been released, but as a UN mission reported earlier in the week, repression is alive and well in Delcy's Venezuela. These theatrical catch-and-release actions against prominent figures send a message to the public that the regime is still in charge. You can read more about that here: Venezuela: Delcy's Regime Kidnaps a Major Opposition Figure.

2. Delcy meeting confirmed 

Speaking of Delcy, earlier this week, I speculated that she might be coming to the United Nations General Assembly next week to meet with Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. Both Trump and Rubio have been coy about it, but UN Ambassador Mike Waltz confirmed on Friday that it will happen. The meeting will be a casual "pull-aside" and the first face-to-face meeting between our president and Maduro's former vice president. Personally, I'm not a big fan of this idea, especially five or six weeks away from the midterms. I know a lot of Hispanic voters in Texas and Florida aren't happy with it, and there are key races in those states that the GOP needs to win. That said, it will be interesting to see how it's handled. You can read more on my thoughts on the matter here: Is Delcy Coming to the United States?.

3. Free speech in Venezuela? Sort of but limited. 

On a slightly more positive note, Delcy's Program for Peace and Democratic Coexistence suggested this week that she lift restrictions on news sites in the country. Rubio has said consistently that a free press is necessary for elections, and if we learned anything during the double earthquakes in June, that doesn't really exist, even months after Maduro was captured. 

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So this week, Telecom regulator Conatel ordered internet providers to restore access to a first group of national and international outlets that had been blocked for years, including El Pitazo, Efecto Cocuyo, Runrunes, Crónica Uno, and Spain’s EFE. Monitors say that about 12 to 17 came back, but nearly 200 remain blocked. It appears this program will trickle out just like the release of political prisoners. Opposition negotiator Dinorah Figuera said it was a first step but continues calling for the remaining 190 or so to be restored.  

4. Sanctions, sanctions, and more sanctions in Cuba 

Rubio added another layer of sanctions to the Cuban regime this week, targeting the regime’s nickel apparatus and the military shops that turn the island’s resources into tools of control. He designated state mining and research entities plus the FAR officers who run them. I believe this is the eleventh round of sanctions he's issued against the regime since Trump signed an executive order in May stating that the country is a threat to U.S. national security. 

5. Costa Rica comes to the U.S.  

While he wasn't sanctioning the heck out of the regime, Rubio was meeting with Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar this week. This was an important meeting because under Costa Rica's new president, Laura Fernández, our two countries have grown much closer than we already were, especially when it comes to security and economic issues.  

Here's more from the State Department: 

The Secretary thanked Foreign Minister Tovar for Costa Rica’s continued efforts to deepen the U.S.-Costa Rica economic relationship, including ongoing engagement on trade matters.

Secretary Rubio also welcomed Costa Rica’s leadership on security and sovereignty issues in our region as a founding member of the Shield of the Americas, the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, and as a member of Pax Silica.

The Secretary reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to our longstanding friendship with Costa Rica and looks forward to continued collaboration between our two nations.

6. Cutting Cuban ties 

While Tovar was in town, he confirmed to the Miami Herald that Costa Rica has cut diplomatic ties with Cuba and will continue doing so until Cuba "recovers their freedom." Cuba is essentially losing most of its allies in the region, though it still has old Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, so there's that. 

7. Bolsonaro boost in Brazil 

Speaking of Cuba losing allies, the Brazilian presidential elections are merely a couple of weeks away, and while it looked like a win for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a while, the little dictator has some real competition now. Several polls show Flávio Bolsonaro statistically tied with Lula, so the situation will likely lead to a run-off. Bolsonaro has Trump and Rubio's support, but unfortunately, Lula has jumped on the "do you want Brazil to turn into Venezuela" bandwagon that Latin American leftists have started, citing the Venezuelan oil deal Trump announced a couple of weeks ago. He's basically campaigning against imaginary imperialism.   

8. 'The Engineer' caught

During a Senate hearing this week, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the United States had caught a fugitive from the agency's Ten Most Wanted list. The guy was Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre aka "The Engineer" or sometimes "Prometheus," and he was the first cyber-fugitive to ever make the list. We got him in Venezuela last weekend and will bring him to the U.S. He's accused of running ATM-jackpotting crews across U.S. cities and routing the cash to Tren de Aragua. There was a $1 million reward for his arrest. 

A few more things:  

Five countries in Central America — Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador — celebrated their Independence Day this week. Learn more about why that day and how these countries celebrate here: Happy Independence Day to Our Friends in Central America.   

On Independence Day, El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, along with First Lady Gabriela and their daughters Layla and Aminah, opened a school with eight classrooms, a cafeteria, early-childhood rooms, a playground, and a 15-kilometer road that was much needed for the area. I've written a lot about what Bukele is doing for the Salvadoran youth lately, so I won't get too much into that, but I wanted to share his little girls who stole the show at the grand opening: 

Papa Bukele may be my favorite thing right now — and the school kids seemed to adore him too. Worst "dictator" ever. 

Last but not least, scientists have discovered a new cat — the first discovery of its kind in about 100 years. The tilcayo is a three-pound, rosette-spotted tiger cat from Bolivia’s Yungas cloud forest. Apparently, the locals already knew it existed, and one family was even keeping one as a house pet. It's a cute little thing. 

Well, that's it for me. As I say, Rubio isn't handing me exclusives... yet. But who knows what the future holds? Maybe he will get smart and consult with me before he meets Delcy at the UN next week. Kidding, kidding... kind of. 

Have a great weekend, y'all!