Tag Archives: United States

From Partner by Default to Partner of Choice: Shifting US Policy in Latin America

By Eliot Brockner | Published: April 13, 2010
On March 26, US Ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield said the US is close to signing bi-lateral military accords with two unspecified countries in Latin America. In October 2009, following a failed attempt to keep the details secret, the US and Colombia hastily announced a deal allowing US troops and advisors to use seven military bases [...]
Posted in Brazil, Panama, United States | Also tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Selective Impunity

By Eliot Brockner | Published: March 29, 2010
El Chiguire Bipolar has a good take on the concept of selective impunity. In the Onion-like fashion for which the blog is known, it tells the story of Maria Angelica Guerrero, a two-time victim of lightning kidnappings and exasperation at the police’s ineffectiveness. Thinking creatively, she attempts to get her kidnapper to speak negatively about Hugo [...]
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Merida 2.0: A New Phase in U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation

By Dora Beszterczey | Published: March 26, 2010
Responding to a growing sense that an exclusive focus on a military-led fight against drug trafficking organizations is failing to curb violence on the other side of our southern border, the United States and Mexico formally announced a shift in their counternarcotics strategy that had been in the works since the fall of 2009. The “new stage” in bilateral cooperation will aim to strengthen civilian law enforcement institutions and rebuild communities crippled by poverty and crime.
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Creative thinking on the drug war?

By Sebastian Chaskel | Published: February 25, 2009
The taboo that kept some from outright admitting that current antinarcotics policies have failed has all but disappeared.  A recent report by former Brazilian President Crdoso, former Colombian President Gaviria, and former Mexican President Zedillo made precisely this point and an op-ed by the three this week in the WSJ with the headline “The War [...]
Posted in Colombia, Mexico | Also tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Manta: What Next?

By Eliot Brockner | Published: February 16, 2009
“We won’t renew the contract in 2009”, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said in December 2006, roughly three weeks before his inauguration as Ecuador’s seventh president in the past 10 years. Citing sovereignty issues, Correa claimed “[Ecuador] would extend the treaty only if the United States allows us to put an Ecuadorian base in Miami.” With [...]
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Mexico’s Drug War?

By Eliot Brockner | Published: January 11, 2009
On 12 January, US President-Elect Barack Obama will meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderón to discuss the future of US-Mexican relations. The two have a lot to talk about. Mexico is limping out of one of its most violent years in history, in which 5,630 people were killed in drug and gang-related [...]
Posted in Guatemala, Mexico | Also tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Argentina and the Drug Trade

By Eliot Brockner | Published: December 14, 2008
The nation most known for its meat and tango is facing the possibility of adding something more to the notoriety list: a haven for drug smuggling. Within the last two weeks, Argentine customs officials and police have seized over 1000 kilos of cocaine in the port of Buenos Aires, destined for Spain for distribution [...]
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Pass FTA and amend Plan Colombia, from the Washington Times

By Sebastian Chaskel | Published: December 2, 2008
The Washington Times published an op-ed yesterday that I co-authored with Shannon O’Neil. It originally appeared here and I am including the entire text below. The Washington Times Monday, December 1, 2008 O’NEIL/CHASKEL: Pass FTA and amend Plan Colombia Shannon O’Neil and Sebastian Chaskel Two years ago President Bush and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe negotiated a free trade agreement (FTA). [...]
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The Next President’s Policies Toward Latin America

By Sebastian Chaskel | Published: October 20, 2008
Back in 2000 then-candidate George W. Bush pledged to make this a “Century of the Americas.” ”Our future cannot be separated from the future of Latin America,” then-candidate George W. Bush told a Miami audience in 2000. ”Should I become the president, I will look south not as an afterthought, but as a fundamental [...]
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