Latin American Security & Strategic Review

A planned overhaul of Colombia’s counter-narcotics strategy remains among the most contentious policies pushed by President Gustavo Petro, who has called for the easing of a decades-long militarised crackdown on drug production and for the trial of new, more progressive methods.

Mexico’s defence ministry (Sedena) suffered a major cyberattack on 29 September, when a group of hackers known as Guacamaya broke into its servers and released six terabytes of sensitive email data.

An attempt against the life of Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernández has shaken the country, shocked its political class, and caused waves beyond its borders by highlighting how aggressive and radicalised politics has become in Latin America.

Haiti recently commemorated the first anniversary of the brutal murder of former president Jovenel Moïse (2017-2021) [SSR-21-08].

Colombia is set for major change following Gustavo Petro’s victory in the 19 June presidential run-off.

The ninth Summit of the Americas (SoA), which took place from 6-10 June in Los Angeles, California, was marred by controversy over its guestlist.

The targeted killing of Marcelo Pecci, a Paraguayan prosecutor who was overseeing high-profile drug investigations and had a reputation for incorruptibility, has produced shock due to both the brutality of the assassination, and what it says about Paraguay’s increasingly brazen and sophisticated criminal gangs.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.