Cartels on the Terrorist List?
Talking About Latin America
Some in Washington are proposing putting Mexican criminal groups on the US government's terrorist list, or even using the US military against them on Mexican soil. Neither proposal gets at the problem of impunity for state collusion with organized crime.
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4. U.S.-Colombia Relations "in a Challenged Place"
Talking About Latin America
Relations between the United States and close ally Colombia have hit their roughest patch in years. It is being aggravated by disagreement over the FARC peace accord and how to deal with coca eradication. A better-briefed Secretary of State could deal with this more effectively, but that doesn't seem to be Rex Tillerson's style.
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3. The Border Wall and the Budget
Talking About Latin America
April 25, 2017: The Trump White House came dangerously close to shutting down the U.S. government over funding for its proposed wall along the border with Mexico. Here I explain the budget process, what we know of the administration’s wall-building plans, and why it’s a bad idea. .
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2. "The Thing"
Talking About Latin America
April 6, 2017: Did you know that the U.S. government now has 107 programs that it can use to aid foreign militaries and police forces? Neither did I, before we started working on what turned out to be a huge report, or project, or "thing," that's now nearly complete. The new resource I discuss here doesn't have a name yet, but you can check it out in draft form at . (In mid-April this will move to defenseoversight.wola.org.) I also discuss the Security Assistance Monitor program, which I highly recommend you visit at .
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1: Worrying About Peace Implementation in Colombia
Talking About Latin America
March 24, 2017: In this inaugural episode, I voice some gnawing concerns about whether, and how, Colombia is going to implement its peace accords. This may be a recurring theme. I refer to a few documents here: The UN monitoring mission's . The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' report on 2016 ( | ). about the transitional justice bill. Colombia's . The "" tag on my blog.
info_outlineApril 6, 2017: Did you know that the U.S. government now has 107 programs that it can use to aid foreign militaries and police forces? Neither did I, before we started working on what turned out to be a huge report, or project, or "thing," that's now nearly complete.
The new resource I discuss here doesn't have a name yet, but you can check it out in draft form at defenseassistance.org/program. (In mid-April this will move to defenseoversight.wola.org.)
I also discuss the Security Assistance Monitor program, which I highly recommend you visit at securityassistance.org.