Weekly Report - 21 August 2014 (WR-14-33)

Since taking office in January President Juan Orlando Hernández has had some testy words for the US, the country’s main ally, most recently over the child migrant crisis. The US in turn has looked slightly askance at some of Hernández’s bold new security initiatives, including a new shoot-down law and the installation of radars acquired from Israel in a bid to make defence policy “independent” (i.e. of the US). After a definite cooling, perhaps a deliberate attempt by Hernández to put the country on a more even footing with its chief taskmaster, efforts now appear underway to start afresh.