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Security & Strategic Review - April 2026
LEADER
The killing of Mexico’s most powerful drug kingpin, Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, on 22 February served a major blow to the cartel he led, the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), and a significant boost for President Claudia Sheinbaum.... Read More
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
With the war in the Middle East capturing most of the world’s attention, US air strikes in Ecuador on 3 March largely slipped under the radar.... Read More
Ecuador’s political opposition is facing escalating legal pressure on several fronts, with criminal investigations looking into alleged money laundering, tax fraud, and illicit campaign financing which may have amounted to foreign interference in Ecuadorean politics.... Read More
Sebastián Marset, the alleged leader of the Primer Cartel Uruguayo (PCU), was arrested in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz on 13 March.... Read More
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
Chile’s President José Antonio Kast is seeking to navigate geopolitical tensions between the US and China, highlighted by a controversy over a proposed project to install an undersea fibre-optic cable linking Chile to Hong Kong.... Read More
President Santiago Peña has expanded military deployment for internal security across the entire eastern region of the country.... Read More
The supreme court (STF) has convicted the masterminds behind the high-profile assassination in 2018 of Rio de Janeiro councillor Marielle Franco (2017-2018) and her driver Anderson Gomes.... Read More
Uruguay’s government led by President Yamandú Orsi is seeking to boost public support through new security initiatives.... Read More
MEXICO & USMCA
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum began an electoral reform drive on 4 March, submitting a 10-point constitutional reform bill to congress.... Read More
CENTRAL AMERICA
El Salvador’s authoritarian President Nayib Bukele and his Nuevas Ideas (NI) government are facing renewed criticism over the state of human rights under the state of exception first implemented in March 2022 to tackle gangs, which remains in place.... Read More
At the end of February, the governments of Costa Rica and Nicaragua agreed to boost security cooperation aimed at combatting cross-border illegal gold mining.... Read More
On 10 February Guatemala’s interior ministry (Mingob) announced that it had completed its first ever census of its prison system.... Read More
CARIBBEAN
Power blackouts, a collapsing economy, and intense US political pressure all point to one thing: Cuba is likely to experience major change or even social upheaval this year.... Read More
In theory Haiti should have an elected government by the end of the year, but the odds are stacked against this long-sought transition happening smoothly and on schedule, if at all.... Read More
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- What next for Mexico after El Mencho killing?
- ECUADOR: US joins Noboa’s war on crime
- ECUADOR: Opposition warns of democratic erosion
- BOLIVIA: ‘King of the South’ captured in Santa Cruz
- CHILE: Chinese cable project forces Kast to walk diplomatic tightrope
- PARAGUAY: Government ramps up militarised response to organised crime
- BRAZIL: Overdue justice delivered in Marielle Franco murder case
- URUGUAY: Government unveils new security objectives
- MEXICO: Sheinbaum bets on electoral reform
- EL SALVADOR: Bukele under fresh pressure over human rights
- COSTA RICA/NICARAGUA: Renewed focus on cross-border illegal gold mining
- GUATEMALA: First ever prison census
- CUBA: Four scenarios for 2026
- HAITI: A crucial few months