As organized crime and drug trafficking groups extend their reach across Latin America, some in Washington suggest that militaries should play a bigger role in the fight against these threats. Their argument, however, is based on five false assumptions and conceptual misunderstandings. These assumptions must be corrected and clarified to paint an accurate picture of the region’s biggest security threat.
Assumption 1: Drug trafficking and organized crime exist evenly across Latin America and have the same effect in every country in the region.
Quite to the contrary,...
On Tuesday, June 29th, the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a Nominations Hearing for Peter Michael McKinley to be Ambassador to the Republic of Colombia; Rose M. Likins to be Ambassador to the Republic of Peru; Mark Feierstein to be Assistant Administrator (Latin America and the Caribbean) of the United States Agency for International Development; and for Mimi E. Alemayehou to be Executive Vice President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Senator...
Much of the violence last week was related to the Sunday June 20th presidential election in which former defense minister Juan Manuel Santos beat two-time Bogota mayor Antanas Mockus in a landslide victory. While both candidates pledged throughout their campaigns to continue the government’s fight against the FARC, Santos’ win means the extension of current president Álvaro Uribe’s Democratic Security policy, which has...
In a region challenged by increasingly resilient drug trafficking and organized crime networks, policymakers and scholars in defense and security circles are debating whether Latin American militaries should be involved in law enforcement activities, especially counternarcotics. This would be a serious error with grave implications for civil-military relations and democracy. Viewing the military and law enforcement debate in light of Latin America’s history makes clear the risks of including the military in police missions. Following a volatile past marked by military dictatorships and...
Twenty-seven members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed and sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a letter (...
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released its annual reports on coca cultivation and cocaine production in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador yesterday. The main headline surrounding this year's release of the three main reports is Peru's significant increase and Colombia's decrease in coca cultivation in 2009--making Peru a contender for taking Colombia's title as the region's--and...