Sanctions in Latin America

Sanctions have been described as “the withdrawal of customary trade and financial relations for foreign and security policy purposes”. An alternative definition describes them as “commercial and financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals”. They are thought of as a form of limited coercion. Some analysts have described them as part of a spectrum which ranges from outright war at one extreme, through to normal, peaceful diplomacy at the other. Located somewhere in between, they can involve cessation of trade, travel bans, asset freezes, military embargoes, capital controls, and foreign aid reductions.