Trump's Influence Spurs Americas Abuses
Some Latin American and Caribbean governments are violating rights of noncitizens at the Trump administration's behest, while others are using Trump's policies and rhetoric as cover for abuses against their own citizens, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026.
In the 529-page World Report 2026, its 36th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In his introductory essay, Executive Director Philippe Bolopion writes that breaking the authoritarian wave sweeping the world is the challenge of a generation. With the human rights system under unprecedented threat from the Trump administration and other global powers, Bolopion calls on rights-respecting democracies and civil society to build a strategic alliance to defend fundamental freedoms.
The Trump administration's brazen military assault on Venezuela in early 2026 may consolidate the country's repressive government so long as it serves US political and business interests. During 2025, several governments limited access to asylum and abused migrants deported from the United States. Some Latin American governments have increasingly pursued security policies based on mass arrests, military deployment to fight "terrorism," and excessive force. While the US government has often criticized systematic human rights violations in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, it has turned a blind eye to grave abuses in El Salvador, Ecuador, and Peru that restrict journalists and human rights groups.
"During its first year in office, the Trump administration has had an unquestionably negative influence over Latin America and the Caribbean," said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "Latin American governments have a responsibility to defend democracy and make sure it delivers for their people, regardless of who sits in the White House."
"Human rights groups and independent journalists remain a key bastion to protect democracy in the Americas," Goebertus said. "Governments should have their backs as they work at grave risk to promote human rights and expose corruption and abuse."
https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/02/04/americas-trumps-influence-prompts-abuses
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