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:
- Fully vaccinated Americans can go without masks or physical distancing both indoors and outdoors, CDC officials announced on Thursday. More than 154 million Americans have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 117 million are fully vaccinated (roughly 35% of the population). The change does not yet apply to public transportation, health-care settings, or where state/local restrictions still require them. [WaPo]
- As protests in Colombia continue into their third week, residents in Cali (the third largest city in the country), say they are struggling to get food items and petrol. Forty-two people have died in the protests so far. [BBC]
- Illegal miners opened fire on an Indigenous Yanomami community living in a protected area within the Brazilian Amazon, according to local leaders. The Yanomami group said they responded with bows, arrows, and shotguns. One indigenous person and four miners were injured. It is estimated that roughly 20,000 illegal gold miners are in the Yanomami region, which is Brazil’s largest protected Indigenous reserve. [BBC]
- Citizens, doctors and government critics in Nicaragua are calling the government’s claims of success over their handling of the pandemic false, accusing the country’s longtime president, Daniel Ortega, of hiding the pandemic’s real toll. Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, who is also vice president, openly denounced lockdowns and mask mandates, encouraged large gatherings, and prevented health care workers from wearing protective gear. Locals struggle to get the real numbers and data out to the public, as much of broadcast and print media in Nicaragua is controlled by the government and Ortega’s family. [NPR]
