RSSOver the past several months, a number of reports have circulated that address the subject of drug trafficking ties between South American narcotics trafficking interests and terrorist organizations, principally Al Qaeda and its smaller affiliates now known to be based in Northern Africa. These ass[...]
Archive for the ‘Reports’ Category
February 3rd, 2010 - 11:17 am § in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Front Page, Paraguay, Reports, Venezuela
FARQaeda* (FARC + Al Qaeda): A Real Threat or a Matter of Circumstantial Evidence?
Ecuador: Trials with Democracy
Ecuador is a country that, according to conservative human rights body, Freedom House, stands “at the threshold” of democracy, but not for the first time. The small Andean country has a long history of inconsistent democratic governments, interrupted by sporadic military juntas and authoritarian[...]
January 26th, 2010 - 12:05 pm § in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Free Trade, Front Page, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Obama, Reports, Uncategorized, Venezuela
¿Cambio? The Obama Administration in Latin America: A Disappointing Year in Perspective
In a memorandum written as Barack Obama assumed office in January 2009, COHA’s Research Fellows Guy Hursthouse and Tomás Ayuso considered widespread Latin American expectations of a dramatic shift in approach from Washington under the new president, and outlined an agenda for change aimed at [...]
Honduras’ Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo: Another Disaster for Central American Democracy Waiting in the Wing
Tomorrow, January 27th, as the world’s eyes continue to be riveted on the unfolding disaster in Haiti, Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo will be installed as Honduras’ president, succeeding de facto president Roberto Micheletti. Lobo, a supporter of the June 28th military coup that ousted P[...]
January 22nd, 2010 - 12:22 pm § in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Front Page, Peru, Reports, Uncategorized
Peacekeeping and Military Operations by Latin American Militaries: Between Being a Good Samaritan and Servicing the National Interest
A December 14, 2009 report by the Spanish security-news agency Infodefensa.com states that Colombia is now prepared to dispatch a battalion of its Special Forces and air force personnel to Afghanistan. The Colombian involvement is being sponsored by Spain in order to aid Coalition forces now engaged[...]
The Dirty Little Secret: Nuclear Security Issues in Latin America and the Caribbean
Globally, nuclear power has become an increasingly important source of energy, accounting for about 15% of the world’s electricity supply. When it comes to Latin America, 3.1% of electricity comes from this source. However, the nettlesome security issues resulting from utilizing nuclear energy sou[...]
Bus Rapid Transit and the Latin American City: Successes to Date, But Miles to Go
Over the past fifteen years, cities throughout Latin America have achieved a modest, yet significant, revolution in urban design through the adoption and refinement of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems. Promising the benefits of developed world transit systems at developing world prices, BRT has quic[...]
Chávez Must Look Homeward To Nurse His Ailing Revolution and Reinforce His Constituency
- Economic hard times eroding his constituency - Venezuelan leader would do well to more carefully choose his shots In 1998, Venezuelans broke with political tradition by electing a well-known and controversial populist colonel named Hugo Chávez Frias as president. They ignored precedent because [...]
El VRAE: Alan García’s Failed Domestic Policy
Since early 2006, almost fifty members of the Peruvian armed forces and the national police have died in the region of el VRAE (a Spanish acronym for the valley of the rivers Apurimac and Ene). For approximately two decades, this region has been the setting of an ongoing series of lethal encounters [...]
Rehabilitating Mexico’s Drug War: Drug Challenges Rising in the U.S. and Mexico
The U.S. Department of Justice decision yesterday to cease the prosecution of the state-sanctioned use and distribution of medical marijuana constitutes a significant step away from militarized federal enforcement of drug laws, and toward a model more responsive to local needs and in line with inte[...]