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:
- Michael Forest Reinoehl, the suspect who was being investigated for killing a far-right Trump supporter in Portland, was shot and killed during a confrontation with policemen on Thursday. “Initial reports indicate the suspect produced a firearm, threatening the lives of law enforcement officers,” the U.S. Marshals Service wrote in a statement. “Task force members responded to the threat and struck the suspect who was pronounced dead at the scene.” [NYT]
- According to the Inter-American Development Bank, millions of students are withdrawing from their studies at Latin American universities because of the pandemic. In many cases, these are students who are the first in their families to get a college education, but COVID-19 has thwarted their plans. [NYT]
- Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren announced that seven officers have been suspended (with pay) over the forceful arrest and killing of Daniel Prude, a Black man who died of asphyxiation after police placed a spit sock over his head and pinned him to the ground. [CNN]
- After botched primaries on the island, Puerto Rico’s elections commission Juan Ernesto Dávila has announced he will resign from his post, effective immediately. However, he has denied that his resignation has to do with pending lawsuits because of the primaries and said instead he is doing so for the well-being of his family, friends and church community. [NBC Latino]
- A senior U.S. official has reportedly told the government in El Salvador that it is at risk for losing American anti-poverty assistance because of President Nayib Bukele’s standoff with his supreme court and current congress. Concerns have trailed Bukele, who many see as leading the country down an authoritarian path and using troops to intimidate leaders pushing tough pandemic measures. [AP]
- Representatives from influential Latino political groups, including UnidosUS Action Fund, Voto Latino, the League of United Latin American Citizens and Mi Familia Vota, shared their views of the GOP and Trump administration in a press conference scheduled just after the Republican National Convention. They charge the GOP with “enabling” a white supremacist agenda within Trump leadership. [Latino USA]
- Jessica Krug, an academic and associate professor at George Washington University, admitted to falsely claiming Black and Afro-Latinx identities for years, writing in a Medium post that she has “built her life on a violent anti-Black lie.” Krug’s lies have sparked a discussion about colorism in academia and the crucial need to center more Black voices. [CBS News]
