For many Venezuelan refugees seeking asylum in the United States, getting through Mexico is the toughest obstacle. Migrants fleeing the economic and political crisis in Venezuela face months of delays to get an official immigration interview appointment in the U.S. via an online phone app.  Asylum seekers must also deal with corrupt Mexican officials, and police roundups that push migrants south toward the Guatemala border.

(“Arrests of Venezuelans at the Border Have Plummeted. That’s Because They Are Stuck,” Christian Science Monitor, March 28, 2024)

ProPublica reports Chevron agreed to pay $13 million dollars to two California state agencies for past inland oil spills, including a spill still running 21 years after it began in a Kern County oilfield. The total amount of oil leaked from these spills exceeded that which was spilled in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska.

(“Chevron Will Pay Record Fines For Oil Spills,” ProPublica, March 22, 2024)

Whistleblowers from inside aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing dominated headlines on Capitol Hill, as the company was on the hot seat for accidents, such as the panel door plug that blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Previously, 346 people lost their lives in crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia in 2018 and 2019 when faulty sensors triggered an automated system in Boeing’s 737 MAX jet.  Congress is now investigating the overall management culture at Boeing, which according to whistleblowers, prioritized the production schedule over aircraft safety.

(“This Union is Organizing to Save Boeing from Itself,” In These Times, March 28, 2024; “Whistleblower Urges Boeing to Ground All 787 Dreamliners,”  Dreamliners, April 16, 2024)

This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo.