RSSSince 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 [...]
Archive for the ‘Reports’ Category
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[...]
Guatemala Far from out of the Woods: Sentencing of an Ex-Paramilitary Officer a Transformative Step for the Country?
On August 31, 2009, a Guatemalan court in the mountain town of Chimaltenango convicted Felipe Cusanero, a former paramilitary officer in the country’s 36-year-long civil war. His crime was the forced disappearance of six indigenous villagers between 1982 and 1984. In many regards, the convic[...]
October 8th, 2009 - 12:53 pm § in Argentina to Cuba, Dominica to Jamaica, Front Page, Mercosur to Venezuela, Reports
South America and Its Likelihood of a Season of Splendid Little Wars: An Analysis of Arms Races and Regional Geopolitics
In mid-September, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton critiqued Venezuela’s leader Hugo Chavez for his ongoing purchases of mostly Russian military equipment, arguing that this could trigger an arms race in South America. The statement has added fuel to the ongoing discussions about what form South[...]
El doble estándar de Washington hacia Cuba: La Habana como falso “patrocinador estatal del terrorismo.”
The following is a Spanish translation of COHA Research Fellow Brandon Bloch’s research memorandum: Washington’s Double Standard on Cuba: Havana as a Spurious “State Sponsor of Terrorism,” released on September 14th. While COHA does not typically provide translations, this piece is particul[...]
The Consolidation of U.S. Military Presence in Colombia and Those Who Are Apprehensive Over it
The ongoing negotiation between the United States and Colombia, which strengthened military cooperation by granting U.S. military personnel and civil contractors access to seven Colombian military bases, has generated contentious internal and regional debates. Throughout the hemisphere, many questi[...]
Proceso: Honduras: La ambigüedad de Washington
Proceso, published September 14 WASHINGTON, 11 de septiembre (apro).- Ahora que se apagaron los reflectores que acompañaron la última visita de Manuel Zelaya a Washington, durante la cual el presidente destituido de Honduras obtuvo una nueva tanda de tímidas sanciones por parte de sus anfitrione[...]
Canada and Honduras: Act Now
If Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants to be taken seriously as an international figure, he must be able to simultaneously juggle domestic and international crises without dropping the ball. While the Liberal opposition threatens to bring down Harper’s minority government daily, the Tori[...]
The Mapuche Struggle for Autonomy
Mapuches fight for Land Rights On August 17, dozens of Mapuche communities in southern Chile united to form the Mapuche Territorial Alliance to continue their struggle for political autonomy. Many of them had carried on angry protests, most recently on August 12, when a police operation to evict th[...]