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:
Joe Biden continues to build out his coronavirus plan, with the White House expected to tell governors that states will get more vaccines starting next week. Federal allocations are expected to go up by about 16% to help with shortages and demand problems across the country. [WaPo]
Sources within the Biden administration say that millions of coronavirus vaccine doses appear to be missing after the Trump administration shipped them out to states in the country. There could be almost 20 million doses, according to reports. [Independent]
Senate Democrats are hoping to pass legislation that will grant Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, to Venezuelans in the U.S. The legislation is seen as a way to address Venezuelans and do more beyond an executive order from Donald Trump that shielded Venezuelans from deportation for just 18 months. [NBC Latino]
Guatemalan Maya families fear their relatives may be among about 19 dead people authorities found over the weekend in a remote part of northern Mexico. The region falls along a route popular with migrant smugglers heading toward the U.S. border. The dead individuals have not been identified. [NBC]
Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Colombia’s defense minister, died in the hospital after contracting coronavirus. He had been taken into care after battling the virus and developing viral pneumonia. “Colombia has lost one of its best men,” President Ivan Duque said on Tuesday. [BBC]
The University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras campus has announced that through a $700,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, it will create a new Afro-Diasporic and Racial Studies program. “We are deeply grateful to this distinguished institution, and we are certain that these funds will safeguard extensive collections which will fulfill our mission of studying, reflecting and disseminating the vast knowledge that is produced in the Afro-Caribbean Diaspora,” a university chancellor said in a statement. [Latino Rebels]
