A Check on Trust for Rio’s Expanding Pacification Program
Two contrasting images of the police pacification programs in Rio de Janeiro this week are likely to remain in the public’s memory. The first is the swift and publicity-laden police occupation on Sunday of the Lins de Vasconcelos favela in Rio’s Northern Zone, where the Brazilian and Rio state flags were flown in a demonstration … Read more
Brazil Demands Explanation from Canada over Spying Report
On Monday, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff demanded an explanation from the Canadian government over a media report that claims the North American country spied on Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry—the institution that manages the country’s mineral and oil resources. This comes only a few weeks after a similar report claimed the United States was also … Read more
Legislators Move to Restrict NSA Surveillance in Brazil
On Thursday, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff asked legislators to quickly approve a bill that would require technology companies to store private user data on Brazilian-based servers and comply with Brazil’s digital privacy laws. This comes as members of Brazil’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee also announced yesterday that they would seek meetings with Edward J. Snowden, … Read more
The Shining Path: Battered, but Unbroken
BOGOTA – It is somewhat ironic that Douglas MacArthur’s famous observation that “old soldiers never die, they just fade away” is also an apt description of the life cycle of terrorist organizations. At least, it certainly applies to the Shining Path organization. Casual observers of South America might be surprised to discover that the Shining … Read more
Peace Talks with FARC Ruled Constitutional
The Constitutional Court of Colombia, the country’s highest court, ruled yesterday that peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia—FARC) are constitutional, rejecting a legal challenge that would have stalled negotiations in ending over 50 years of conflict. The decision comes after several weeks of the court listening … Read more
Los desplazados: una cara poco estudiada de la violencia en México
La violencia producto del narcotráfico—con todas sus vertientes como son la corrupción en el gobierno y en las fuerzas del orden, el enfrentamiento entre bandas y la apertura a otros negocios igual de ilícitos y rentables como extorsión, trata de blancas, lavado de dinero y un largo etcétera—ha propiciado un fenómeno que apenas en las … Read more
Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador Discuss Security
Defense Minister Celso Amorim of Brazil met with his counterparts, Juan Carlos Pinzón of Colombia and María Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, in the Brazilian city of Manaus Thursday morning. The meeting was focused on strengthening security cooperation between the three nations that border the Amazon. Protecting the Amazon from illegal activities was the main topic of the meeting organized as part of a … Read more
New Violence Hits Honduras
At least ten people—including women and children—were killed in a shootout between rival drug gangs in northeastern Honduras on Tuesday. The total death toll in the rural La Mosquita region on Honduras’ Atlantic coast could be as high as 16 according to local authorities, adding to the over 3,000 homicides reported in the first six … Read more
Suspects in Police Massacre Tied to Guatemala’s Villatoro Cano Cartel
Sixteen suspects were captured in recent weeks for their role in the June 13 massacre of an entire police station in Salcajá, Guatemala, a case that has shocked a country with a high threshold for violent acts. Still, many unanswered questions remain. Gunmen killed all eight officers on duty in the assault on the Policía … Read more
Monday Memo: Peru Protests – Bachelet and Matthei – Colombia Peace Talks – Cholera in Haiti – Mexican Vice-Admiral Killed
Likely top stories this week: demonstrators protest in Peru; a Chilean lawyer investigates the death of Michelle Bachelet’s father; FARC–Colombian government peace talks resume; a new report faults the UN for Haiti’s cholera outbreak; and assailants kill a Mexican vice-admiral. Protesters and Police Clash in Peru: Thousands of demonstrators clashed with hundreds of riot police … Read more
30,000 and Counting: The Long and Winding Road of Peace-Building in Colombia
After more than half a century of conflict, efforts to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate Colombia’s warring groups are just beginning to take hold. While a few small left-wing guerrilla groups were demobilized in the 1990s, successful reintegration of thousands of ex-combatants—most of them right-wing paramilitaries—into peaceful society has remained elusive. But that seems to be … Read more
Santos Accuses FARC of Violating Peace Negotiations
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos denounced the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC) on Tuesday for what he described as a “flagrant violation” of the group’s commitment to end kidnappings prior to its peace negotiations with the Colombian government in Havana. Santos’ comments, delivered at the opening of Colombiamoda (Colombian Fashion … Read more
Venezuela y Snowden: Las contradicciones domésticas
Durante años, ejercer periodismo o entrar en la arena política venezolana implicaba aceptar el hecho de que, al tocar las cuerdas erradas, conversaciones telefónicas o trechos de la rutina diaria podían ser expuestos en televisión nacional—en loop o cámara lenta, estudiados con marcas y detalles como una jugada de fútbol—para delirio de adversarios. Fue así … Read more
Colombian Guerilla Unit Surrenders in Cali
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos traveled to Cali on Tuesday for the largest demobilization of members of the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional—ELN) in Colombian history. A 30-member unit of the guerilla group, which included three pregnant women, surrendered in the southwestern city. The ELN, with its estimated 3,000 members, has shown interest … Read more
Colombia and FARC Conclude 11th Round of Negotiations
The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia—FARC) concluded their eleventh, and shortest, round of peace negotiations in Havana, Cuba, on Tuesday. This round of talks focused on whether to allow the guerillas to hold political office—one of the most contentious points in the five-point peace agenda. This … Read more
