Sarah Kinosian
This week the head of Southcom said he can't stop 80 percent of drugs coming from Colombia, the U.S. government made increasingly critical statements against Venezuela's government and El Salvador almost got a new president. Here's a roundup of these stories and other highlights from around the region over the past week.
This week the Obama administration cut aid to Colombia and Mexico in its proposed budget for FY2015, El Salvador's police chief said the gang truce was technically done and Colombia's military was rocked by more scandals. Here's a roundup of these stories and other highlights from around the region over the past week.
This week, the world's most wanted drug trafficker was captured in a joint U.S.-Mexico military operation, U.S. Southern Command said it didn't have enough money to interdict the majority of drugs at sea, robots started patrolling drug tunnels at the border and Venezuela announced a new ambassador to the United States. Below is a roundup of these stories and other highlights from around the region over the past week.
This week the United States reaffirmed its commitment to fighting narcotrafficking in Central America, a majority of U.S. citizens indicated they wanted a change in U.S. policy to Cuba and Venezuelans took to the streets. Below is a roundup of these stories and other highlights from around the region over the past week.
The President of Colombia's Congress, Juan Fernando Cristo, was in Washington, DC two weeks ago to promote the idea of a "Plan Colombia II" to lawmakers. This proposed restructuring of aid that would move away from funding security forces, and instead would focus on providing for conflict victims, promoting rural development, ensuring human rights and repairing the justice system.
This week, the presidential race heated up in Costa Rica and El Salvador, Honduras's new president criticized U.S. drug policies and Nicaragua expanded the military's role in the country. Below is a roundup of these stories and other highlights from around the region over the past week.
A new blog post by the Center for International Policy’s William Hartung highlights the first policy directive on conventional arms sales in almost two decades, released by the Obama administration on January 15. The language of the directive emphasizes that human rights be a key part of arms sales decision making, while also pushing for greater promotion of U.S. exports.