Latin American Security & Strategic Review
Security & Strategic Review - July 2025
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- Cristina Fernández’s conviction upheld in Argentina
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- ECUADOR: One step closer to the return of foreign military bases
- COLOMBIA: Petro accused of inciting violence as senator shot
- COLOMBIA: Elected to the UN Security Council
- PERU: Counting the cost of crime
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- ARGENTINA: Controversial decree grants police new powers
- BRAZIL: Social media companies to be held liable for content
- PARAGUAY: Hacking and data breaches raise cybersecurity concerns
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Judicial elections prompt democracy concerns
- MEXICO: Questions abound over murder of CDMX aides
- MEXICO: Hope despite major setback for arms trafficking lawsuit
CENTRAL AMERICA
- HONDURAS/REGION: Press freedom concerns build ahead of election
- GUATEMALA: UN rapporteur signals fresh concern over attorney general’s office
- PANAMA: Unions decry persecution
CARIBBEAN
- REGION: Eastern Caribbean states in search of solutions
One of the most divisive political figures in Argentina’s recent history, former president (2007-2015) and vice president (2019-2023) Cristina Fernández, began serving her prison sentence under house arrest on 17 June, after the supreme court (CSJN) upheld her conviction on corruption charges a week earlier.
Security & Strategic Review - June 2025
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- El Salvador’s Bukele doubles down on dissent
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- REGION: Massacres highlight threat posed by illegal mining
- VENEZUELA/GUYANA: Tensions rise over Essequibo ‘elections’
- COLOMBIA: Internal displacement surges
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- CHILE: Gov’t backs proposals to resolve Mapuche conflict
- BRAZIL: Plan to demolish São Paulo favela proves controversial
- BRAZIL: Gov’t resists pressure to designate gangs as terrorists
- ARGENTINA: Milei tightens migration laws
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Alarm raised over controversial telecoms bill
- MEXICO: Judicial elections spark security fears
- MEXICO: Forced internal displacement on the rise
CENTRAL AMERICA
- COSTA RICA: Chaves’ security boasts ring hollow
- GUATEMALA: Porras targets key Arévalo support base
CARIBBEAN
- REGION: Rubio moves to shore up US-Caribbean relations
The recent approval of a ‘foreign agents’ law and arrests of high-profile human rights defenders (HRDs) have left little doubt that El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele is intent on taking an increasingly hard line on dissent.
Security & Strategic Review - May 2025
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- Ecuador’s Noboa re-elected as cracks show in his security plan
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- COLOMBIA: ELN splinter group demobilises in first win for ‘total peace’ plan
- BOLIVIA: Fresh allegations about 2024 uprising
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: Tighter rules for police in Rio favelas
- PARAGUAY-BRAZIL: Spying scandal impacts bilateral Itaipú talks
- CHILE: Botched museum project topples veteran senator
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: States crack down on narcocorridos
- MEXICO: Drought drives tensions with Trump
- MEXICO: Bullfighting bans come into force
CENTRAL AMERICA
- PANAMA: Security agreements with US prove contentious
- EL SALVADOR: Behind the deportations to Cecot
- NICARAGUA: Changes to military code approved
CARIBBEAN
- HAITI: From very bad to even worse
Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa scored a thumping re-election victory on 13 April that was due in no small part to his hardline stance against criminal gangs.
Security & Strategic Review - April 2025
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- Mexico’s gov’t tested by tragic discovery
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- VENEZUELA/EL SALVADOR: Tren de Aragua becomes focus of Trump’s deportation drive
- PERU: Congress sends warning to Boluarte about insecurity
- ECUADOR: Landslides and oil spills – a recurrent problem
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- URUGUAY: New gov’t raises urgency on insecurity
- ARGENTINA: Flash flood devastates city in Buenos Aires province
- ARGENTINA: Milei forces through judicial picks
- BRAZIL: Local authorities ramp up hardline security stance
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: School violence in the spotlight
- MEXICO: Mass extradition seeks to appease US
CENTRAL AMERICA
- HONDURAS: Concerns over campaign finance
- PANAMA/COSTA RICA: Dramatic plunge in migration through the Darién
- NICARAGUA: Withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council
CARIBBEAN
- BELIZE: PUP holds onto power
- DOMINICAN REPUBLIC/HAITI: Dominican Republic clamps down on Haitian migrants
- JAMAICA: Homicide rate trending down
- GUYANA/VENEZUELA: New coastal incursion
President Claudia Sheinbaum is facing a critical moment.
Security & Strategic Review - March 2025
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- Argentine government bolsters border security
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- COLOMBIA: New defence minister faces daunting challenges
- ECUADOR: Noboa and González face off in security-focused election
- BOLIVIA: Coca production ticks up
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- ARGENTINA: Patagonia reels from forest fire outbreaks
- CHILE-REGION: Gov’t seeks regional allies on anti-gang policies
- BRAZIL: Violent death rate continues to drop
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Trump goes after drug cartels
- MEXICO: Violence rises in Tabasco
- MEXICO: Corruption credentials under scrutiny
CENTRAL AMERICA
- EL SALVADOR/REGION: Accommodating Trump’s migration-related demands
- HONDURAS: Flare-up of Bajo Aguán violence
- EL SALVADOR: Public financing of political parties scrapped
- NICARAGUA: Voluntary police force gains constitutional recognition
CARIBBEAN
- REGION: Caricom facing “wave after wave” of crises
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich has been ramping up her rhetoric calling for greater efforts to tackle transnational crime around Argentina’s borders, highlighting government plans to shore up border security.
Security & Strategic Review - February 2025
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- Beyond Trump’s Panama Canal claims
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- COLOMBIA: ELN offensive puts conflict at ‘dangerous inflection point’
- PERU: Bomb attacks in two cities
- REGION: Tren de Aragua under the spotlight
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- ARGENTINA: NGOs alarmed over government’s security policies
- ARGENTINA: Setbacks for indigenous land rights
- BRAZIL: Crime wave flares up in Amazonian border state
- CHILE: Boric reaffirms Chilean claim in Antarctica
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Sheinbaum targets firearms
- MEXICO: Concerns persist over journalists’ safety
- MEXICO: Air pollution causes alarm
CENTRAL AMERICA
- GUATEMALA: Arévalo marks one year in office, struggles with key pledge
- EL SALVADOR: Mixed movement on transitional justice
CARIBBEAN
- SURINAME: Suriname’s moment
Donald Trump’s threat upon his 20 January inauguration as US president to take back the Panama Canal, based on claims of Chinese involvement in the waterway, and complaints of high fees, was among the most headline-grabbing of his announcements.
Security & Strategic Review - January 2025
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- Another low point for Bolivia’s counter-narcotics agency
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- COLOMBIA: Mancuso sentenced for war crimes
- PERU: Expanding the prison network
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: Spectre of putschist legacy looms over military
- BRAZIL: Authorities call for measures against police brutality
- CHILE: Congress passes key security legislation
- PARAGUAY: Doubts over commitment to DEA cooperation
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Clamping down on fentanyl
- MEXICO: Scope of mandatory pretrial detention extended
- MEXICO: More states decriminalise abortion
CENTRAL AMERICA
- NICARAGUA: Consolidating absolute power
- HONDURAS: More doubts over the state of exception
- REGION: Claims of progress in combatting gender violence ring hollow
CARIBBEAN
- HAITI: Daunting obstacles to economic recovery
The 12 December extradition to the US of Maximiliano Dávila, who headed Bolivia’s counter-narcotics agency (FELCN) in 2019, dealt yet another hammer blow to the organisation’s reputation.