Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
What We're Watching: India's rape problem, Iranian antics at sea, Guatemala has another anti-corruption prosecutor
India's rape problem: Hundreds of protesters have flocked to the streets of New Delhi for four days straight after a 9-year old girl was raped and murdered in a small village outside the capital while going to fetch water for her family. Some demonstrators burned effigies of India's PM Narendra Modi, saying that the government has not done enough — or anything, really — to address the country's abysmal rape problem: there were more than 32,000 rapes recorded in 2019, certainly a vast undercount given the stigma associated with reporting sexual assaults in India. The scourge of sexual violence against women and girls in India was brought to light in 2012 when a 23-year-old woman was gang raped and murdered while traveling on a bus in the nation's capital, prompting international outrage. Four men have been arrested in connection with this week's attack, though they have not been charged. The city of New Delhi, meanwhile, has ordered an inquiry to probe events surrounding the young girl's death, though Indians who have been sounding the alarm on violence against women for decades aren't expecting much to come of it.
Iranian antics in the Arabian Sea: Iran has upped the ante in the ongoing maritime wars: last week, an Iranian drone attack on an Israeli-linked tanker operated by a British company, killed a Briton and a Romanian, prompting British PM Boris Johnson to warn of "serious consequences." Now, this week, the Brits said another tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates had been hijacked, likely by Tehran, though the ship has since been declared safe. What's Iran's strategy here? The drone attack fits into the pattern of the ongoing Israel-Iran shadow war (Israel has targeted several Iranian vessels bound for Syria, transporting oil and weapons.) But some observers wonder whether all these high-seas shenanigans could also be an attempt by Iran's powerful and ultra-hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to scuttle ongoing negotiations on a return to the 2015 nuclear deal. The last round of talks in Vienna adjourned in June, and while the Biden administration says it's committed to returning to the negotiating table, trust between Washington and Tehran is extremely low.
Guatemala appoints possible fox to mind hen house: Guatemala has appointed a new anti-corruption prosecutor, just weeks after the dismissal of his predecessor provoked street protests and drew a stern rebuke from los yanquis. The Central American country ranks a lowly 149th on the Corruption Perceptions Index, and recent efforts to change that have been less than inspiring. Back in 2019, the government kicked out a UN body that was probing graft, creating its own local anti-corruption team instead. In July, the government of President Alejandro Giammattei sacked the leader of that group, who fled to neighboring El Salvador and claimed he'd been ousted for finding out things that Giammattei didn't want him to know. Protesters then hit the streets and the Biden administration, which is trying to stamp out corruption in the region, called foul. The new guy, Rafael Curruchiche, is a former prosecutor focused on electoral crimes. But critics point out past allegations that he too has used his power to protect corrupt politicians, including former president Jimmy Morales.
What We're Watching: Biden meets Boris, Iranian ships in the Atlantic, Argentinian president's mishap
Biden hangs with Boris: On his first trip to Europe as US president, Joe Biden stopped first in the UK where he met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. While Biden is keen to reaffirm the close bond between the two countries, there are also some thorny issues on the agenda. The US president likely reiterated the importance of London safeguarding the fragile peace in Northern Ireland, and instructed Johnson to refrain from triggering a provision in the EU-UK post-Brexit trade agreement that would reestablish a land border separating Northern Ireland, part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state. Indeed, on this issue, Johnson will have to find a middle ground in managing the warming temperature in Northern Ireland, and placating the US president, who he desperately wants to agree to a juicy post-Brexit US-UK trade deal. Also on the agenda: coordination on climate change and ensuring the smooth and safe reopening of US-UK travel after 16 months of chaos.
What's Iran up to in the Atlantic? Earlier this week, POLITICO reported that two Iranian warships, possibly carrying weapons, were making their way across the Atlantic Ocean. They seem to be headed for Venezuela, which received oil shipments from Iran last year, skirting US economic sanctions on fuel-starved Caracas. Iran's provocative move, sending "destroyer" vessels charting across international seas, is likely to spook many nations. Venezuela's neighbors, like Colombia for example, will be nervous to see strongman President Nicolás Maduro flushed with weapons at a time when the two states have severed diplomatic relations. (Colombia recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country's legitimate president.) The US, meanwhile, will not be pleased to see Iranian military vessels on its doorstep at a time when relations between Washington and Tehran are also extremely fraught. Some experts say this maneuver is performative, with Iran trying to flex its muscle after its biggest navy ship recently caught fire and sank near the Strait of Hormuz. Either way, there is little that the US or its allies can do right now to stop the ships advancing.
What We're Ignoring:
The Argentine president's literary and historical misunderstandings: "The Mexicans came from the Indians, the Brazilians came from the jungle, but we Argentinians came here on boats from Europe." Thus Argentine President Alberto Fernández's attempt to create a vibe with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at a presser earlier this week. But the observation, which he incorrectly attributed to Mexican poet Octavio Paz, managed to piss off people across the ideological spectrum. Right wing Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and his son Eduardo (who are of Italian origin) bristled at the notion that they were from the jungle, while left wing Brazilians pointed out that more than half of Brazil's population identifies as descendants not of "the jungle" but of millions of slaves brought from Africa. And while it's true that the European immigration to Argentina was larger, as a percentage of the population than in Mexico or Brazil, almost a third of Argentines still claim indigenous blood. To top it off, literature buffs note that the actual quote attributed to Paz lands a bit differently: "The Mexicans descended from the Aztecs, the Peruvians descended from the Incas… the Argentines descended from boats." Fernandez has apologized.