Las Notis is a daily news column that gets you up to speed on the political, media + other going ons in Latin America and the diaspora—all in one quick digest.
- Here’s your glimpse at what’s going on today:
- After House prosecutors declared that Donald Trump was “singularly responsible” for the Jan. 6 Capitol riots ahead of his Senate hearings, Trump’s legal team has presented their defense by instead choosing to argue that the Senate has no right to try a former president. They also deny he incited the insurrection and that he’s protected under the First Amendment. House prosecutors say he must be convicted and barred from holding any future office. [NYT]
- New research that the British government is describing as “superb” shows that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine might be effective at keeping coronavirus transmissions at bay. Most vaccines so far have been able to reduce the severity of the illness; the Oxford-AstraZeneca team reported that a single dose of the vaccine was also 76% effective against symptomatic virus carriers. [WaPo]
- President Biden has said he plans to do more to lift Trump-era constraints on refugees, foreign workers, and asylum applicants. However, reversing the former administration’s policies will involve working through a backlog, as well as staffing shortages and pandemic challenges, that immigration experts warn could burden the immigration system for years. [NYT]
- Mexican authorities announced that a dozen police officers have been arrested for the killing of 19 Guatemalan migrants, whose bodies were found shot and burned near the U.S. border. All 12 officers are in custody and face charges of homicide, abuse of authority and making false statements. [AP]
- Puerto Rico presented a budget proposal that Governor Pedro Pierluisi called“realistic” and necessary to jump-start the island’s economy. The total amount is $700 million more than the federally appointed oversight board’s recommendation, but Pierluisi has said his plan is covered by surplus tax revenue and federal aid that the board had not built into projections. [Bloomberg]
- A woman named Jenny Louise Cudd accused of participating in the Capitol riots asked a federal judge for permission to leave the country to go to Mexico for a planned vacation later this month, something the court granted her. Cudd is on video, saying ahead of the insurrection, “I was here today on Jan. 6th when the new revolution started at the Capitol.” [USA Today]