Security & Strategic Review - February 2026

Nasry Asfura of the right-wing Partido Nacional (PN) has been sworn in as Honduras’ new president following an electoral process mired in controversy, and now has the task of dealing with complex issues around security and international relations.... Read More

The Peruvian general elections on 12 April will take place against a backdrop of rising violence in which criminal groups are growing visibly more powerful.... Read More

Since being sworn in as Venezuela’s president on 6 January, Delcy Rodríguez has walked a fine line as she attempts to balance four competing interests – the US government, which now has effective control over the oil sector; hardline nationalists, who were outraged by the 3 January US operation to capture former president Nicolás Maduro (2013-2026); the democratic opposition, which is demanding a transition process; and her own family, as she attempts to retain the power that she wields along with her brother, national assembly president Jorge Rodríguez.... Read More

Colombia’s government was rocked by an espionage scandal in January after two ministers claimed that the defence ministry was responsible for spyware installed on their mobile phones.... Read More

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appointed a former public prosecutor, Wellington César Lima e Silva, as Brazil’s new minister for justice and public security following the resignation of Ricardo Lewandowski (2024-2026) on 8 January.... Read More

Given that President-elect José Antonio Kast’s election campaign last year featured tough rhetoric promising a crackdown on irregular migration and transnational crime, the position of security minister is expected to be one of the most important roles in his government.... Read More

Chile’s summer season (December-February) is the hottest and driest period of the year, with the risk of forest fire outbreaks rising significantly.... Read More

The start of the year has seen Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum face increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump for more cooperation in the fight against drug cartels.... Read More

The expansion of passenger rail services has been a focus of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government.... Read More

On 12 January the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the launch of a new office dedicated to drone and counter-drone technologies, stating that drones were “increasingly exploited by malicious actors”.... Read More

Just days after claiming in a state of the nation address that his administration had made significant progress in improving public security, Guatemala’s left-of-centre reformist President Bernardo Arévalo was forced to declare a national state of siege over a wave of violence linked to gang activity.... Read More

There were 873 homicides in Costa Rica in 2025, down only slightly from 876 in 2024 and a peak of 905 in 2023, according to figures from the judicial investigation agency (OIJ), underlining the scale of the public security challenge facing the next government, which will be led by continuity candidate Laura Fernández following the 1 February elections.... Read More

The continued pressure on Cuba by the US administration led by President Donald Trump, in the wake of the 3 January military raid in Venezuela and capture of former president Nicolás Maduro (2013-2026), a key ally of Havana, comes amid mounting concerns that the island, already suffering economic collapse [EB-12-25], could be facing a deepening humanitarian crisis.... Read More

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on 16 January that it had approved a disbursement of US$415m to Jamaica “to address the impact of Hurricane Melissa” which is estimated by the World Bank to have caused US$8.75bn of direct damage to infrastructure and to residential, non-residential, and agricultural assets.... Read More

Like much of the Western world, the countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) have been grappling with the challenge of how to deal with US President Donald Trump’s administration.... Read More