Category South America

Security & Conflict, South America

El Salvador’s Controversial Offer: Housing U.S. Criminals in Its Mega-Prison

March 7, 2025

El Salvador’s ‘maverick’[1] president, Nayib Bukele, has proposed a unique agreement with the United States, offering to house American criminals and deportees[2] in its notorious mega-prison, Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Terrorism Confinement Center, abbreviated CECOT). This unprecedented deal, put…

Policy & Politics, South America

Diplomacy for Democracy: Why Venezuela Did Not Defy the Odds like Guatemala

March 2, 2025

On January 15, 2024, after months of a tumultuous post-election political and democratic crisis that placed Guatemala at the top of the political agenda in the Americas, Bernardo Arévalo was sworn in as president of Central America’s largest economy. Basic…

Security & Conflict, South America

From Bullets to Hugs: Mexico’s Security Jarabe

December 24, 2024

Understanding AMLO’s De-Securitization Towards Drug Trafficking Through a Human Security Lens [1] In the shadow of escalating violence and entrenched insecurity, Mexico found itself at a critical juncture as it transitioned from the Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto administrations…

Policy & Politics, South America

Restoring Democracy: Lessons from Bolivia since the 2019 Coupvolution

December 18, 2024

Donald Trump is not the only populist former president in the Americas who has sought to return to office over the last four years. The leftist lighting rod Evo Morales has sought to engineer an equally unlikely political comeback in…

Energy & Environment, North America, South America

The Pitfalls of All-the-above Environmental Policy: Analyzing the Role of Right-Wing and Left-Wing Populism in Recent Brazil and U.S. Politics

October 30, 2024

Climate change is one of the most defining issues of our century. Changes in overall human behavior are necessary for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. These changes should come from everyone, including individuals, corporations, and governments. Politicians are leading…

Governance & Law, North America, Policy & Politics, Regional, Security & Conflict, South America, Topical

A Holistic Approach Towards International Counternarcotics Cooperation

October 21, 2022

Dr. Rahul Gupta is the Director of National Drug Control Policy. Todd D. Robinson is the Assistant Secretary for the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Introduction We recently traveled together to Colombia to…

Governance & Law, Policy & Politics, Regional, South America, Topical

Luiz Inacio da Silva speaking at the FAO conference in 2008.

Lula and Bolsonaro, A World Apart on the World Stage

September 27, 2022

Andre Pagliarini is an assistant professor of history at Hampden-Sydney College, a columnist at Brazilian Report, and a faculty fellow at the Washington Brazil Office. There is not much in common between Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the center-left former…

Book Reviews, Economics, Governance & Law, Policy & Politics, Regional, Security & Conflict, South America, Topical

Parque Central in Guatemala City, Guatemala

A Development Journey: Non-stop from the Northern Triangle of Central America to Denmark?

September 1, 2022

Review of: Neil Shenai, Escaping the Governance Trap:Economic Reform in the Northern Triangle, (Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Pivot, 2022). David F. Varela Sr. is a second-year Doctor of International Affairs (DIA) student at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.…

Civil Society, Governance & Law, Policy & Politics, Regional, Security & Conflict, South America, Topical

Colombia sunset viewing the green surroundings of Minca

Can the Government Police Itself? Colombia’s False Positives Scandal and its Lessons for Atrocity Prevention

August 5, 2022

Introduction In April of 2022, a Colombian general and ten other servicemembers admitted that they had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.[1] It was the first time that senior Colombian military officials admitted to wrongdoing since the systemic killing…

Europe, Governance & Law, Policy & Politics, South America

Image of the Venezuelan flag for feature photo

Coming to Terms with Reality: How Could the European Union Most Effectively Support Venezuela’s Democratization?

February 11, 2022

Introduction The European Union (EU) and the United States are usually seen as key players in democracy promotion around the world. Indeed, the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy engrains the principle of protecting and promoting democracy and human rights.[1]…

Civil Society, South America

Chile 2010-2020: The Contentious Decade

February 18, 2021

If contention describes a state of sustained, massive protest combining peaceful, disruptive, and violent tactics, then the decade of the 2010s may be considered the most contentious in Chile’s history.[1] The decade’s contentious dynamics seem more spectacular and unpredictable considering Chilean…

Governance & Law, South America

Operation Mercury and Illegal Mining in Latin America

November 2, 2020

Money laundering serves as an important tool for transnational organized crime groups and terrorist organizations, enabling them to transform profit from illegal activities into clean funds for use in the licit financial system. Malign actors hide their money laundering efforts…