Latin American Security & Strategic Review
Security & Strategic Review - May 2022
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- Gang crackdown in El Salvador reignites democracy concerns
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- BOLIVIA: Heads roll at counter-narcotics agency
- VENEZUELA: Corruption and abuses in the Orinoco Mining Arc
- COLOMBIA: Deadly army raid in Putumayo revives ‘false positives’ scandal
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: Public security and the upcoming elections
- CHILE-REGION: Boric signals pro-active stance on climate with Escazú Treaty
- CHILE: No quick solution to Mapuche conflict
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Violent crime encroaches on tourist hotspots
- MEXICO: Water scarcity looms large in northern Mexico
- MEXICO: Trade stifled on US border amid migration dispute
CENTRAL AMERICA
- HONDURAS: Hernández loses final appeal
- PANAMA/REGION: US urges regional cooperation on migration
CARIBBEAN
- REGION: Food security shoots up the Caribbean agenda
- CARIBBEAN POINTERS
A crackdown on gangs, which was instigated in late March by the Nuevas Ideas (NI) government led by President Nayib Bukele in response to soaring homicides, is sparking major democracy and human rights-related concerns.
Security & Strategic Review - April 2022
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- Booming coca cultivation in Peru and Colombia draws US concern
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- ECUADOR: Steps to address the prisons crisis
- BOLIVIA: UN rapporteur emphasises need for judicial reform
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: The battle with Telegram
- PARAGUAY: Politicians hit by drug investigations
- URUGUAY: Still fighting against gender violence
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Forced internal displacement surges
- MEXICO: Outrage as school benefits programme axed
- MEXICO: Cryptocurrency: the new frontier for Mexican DTOs
CENTRAL AMERICA
- GUATEMALA/REGION: Gender rights remain in a precarious state
- COSTA RICA/REGION: Costa Rica legalises medicinal cannabis use
- NICARAGUA: Convictions of political prisoners cause outcry
CARIBBEAN
- REGION: Caricom leaders worry about the effects of climate change and war
- TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Killing of Venezuelan baby migrant highlights migrant crisis
The US Department of State’s latest International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), published 1 March, outlined major backsliding in coca eradication in Colombia and Peru in 2020.
Security & Strategic Review - March 2022
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- Corruption levels stagnate, casting doubt over López Obrador’s key pledge
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- COLOMBIA: Arauca gripped by guerrilla-on-guerrilla violence
- VENEZUELA-COLOMBIA: Alarm over military drift in Venezuela-Russia relations
- ECUADOR: Oil spill highlights erosion risks in pipeline system
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: Public security policies in Rio – plus ça change?
- REGION: UN urges different responses to wildfires
- BRAZIL-REGION: Europol operation busts drug trafficking network
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: US bans Mexican fishing boats from Gulf of Mexico
- MEXICO: LGBTI+ violence on the rise
CENTRAL AMERICA
- HONDURAS: Hernández’s arrest – a turning point in Honduras?
- EL SALVADOR: Spying scandal reignites press freedom concerns
- GUATEMALA: Giammattei’s security claims raise eyebrows
CARIBBEAN
- GUYANA & SURINAME: Challenges ahead for Guyana and Suriname
- CARIBBEAN POINTERS
Mexico’s performance in the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released by Berlin-based NGO Transparency International (TI) on 25 January, was notable not because of a significant improvement or decline, but precisely due to a lack of meaningful change. Despite President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s strong anti-corruption rhetoric, which underpinned his 2018 electoral campaign, efforts to tackle corruption remain limited, with high levels of impunity and an increasing number of corruption scandals that implicate those close to the president.
Security & Strategic Review - February 2022
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- Boric’s public security challenge in Chile
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- ECUADOR: Lasso takes a hard line in response to surging violence
- COLOMBIA: Police reform clears congress
- PERU: Castillo facing mounting transparency concerns
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: Warnings of setbacks to democracy
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Alarms raised over dangers facing journalists
- MEXICO: New ‘Remain in Mexico’ raises old concerns
- MEXICO: López Obrador under pressure over medicine shortages
CENTRAL AMERICA
- GUATEMALA: Marking a key anniversary
- EL SALVADOR: New water law draws criticism
- HONDURAS: Killing of indigenous activist underlines priority for new government
- COSTA RICA: More progress in clean energy efforts
CARIBBEAN
- REGION: Oil and gas producers at bottom of Caribbean corruption index
- BARBADOS: Mottley begins new term
- CARIBBEAN POINTERS
Chile’s President-elect Gabriel Boric won a convincing victory over his far-right rival, José Antonio Kast, in the presidential run-off in December.
Security & Strategic Review - January 2022
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- Major security policy changes expected in Honduras under Castro
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- COLOMBIA: Farc removed from US terror blacklist
- VENEZUELA/ECUADOR: Saab under scrutiny in Ecuador
- ECUADOR: Uncertainty follows high court ruling upholding rights of nature
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- CHILE: Red alerts over forest fires
- ARGENTINA: Rights groups denounce police lethality
- BRAZIL: New development in fight against PCC
- PARAGUAY-BRAZIL: Unrelenting wave of violence on the border
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Little progress on femicides
- MEXICO: Republican austerity takes a knock
- MEXICO: Enforced disappearances continue to haunt Mexico
CENTRAL AMERICA
- PANAMA: Clan del Golfo raids reveal increasing security concerns
- COSTA RICA: Corruption concerns prevail ahead of February elections
- COSTA RICA/PANAMA: First moves in extending marine biosphere reserves
CARIBBEAN
- BARBADOS: Mottley calls early election
- CARIBBEAN POINTERS
Honduras’ president-elect Xiomara Castro, of the left-wing opposition Partido Libertad y Refundación (Libre), has promised sweeping reforms to demilitarise citizen security and redouble efforts in the fight against corruption after more than a decade of Partido Nacional (PN) rule.