Stop Enabling Latin America’s Gun Addiction
In the new issue of Americas Quarterly, we asked people, “What would you tell the next U.S. president about Latin America?” To see other authors’ responses, click here. Dear Mister / Madam President, As the world’s largest arms exporter, the U.S. plays an outsize role in fueling Latin America’s insatiable addiction to firearms. To take … Read more
Interview: Ingrid Betancourt on Colombia-FARC Peace
Since being held captive for six years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), former senator and presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt has come to believe the nation’s best path forward is through peace negotiations between the rebel group and the government. So it is appropriate that themes of reconciliation, dialogue and forgiveness run throughout … Read more
Cómo es vivir en la ciudad más violenta de Venezuela – y del mundo
Read in English La capital venezolana ya es la ciudad más peligrosa del mundo; incluso peor para miembros del ayuntamiento como Jesús Armas. A los veinte y nueve años, Armas, quien fue elegido por primera vez en diciembre 2013, ha sido testigo del crecimiento de la tasa de asesinatos a 120 homicidios por 100.000 personas … Read more
Homegrown Solutions to Central America’s Narco Nightmare
Six months after getting elected on a tough-on-crime platform, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández blamed his country’s spiraling crime problem on U.S. drug policy. Washington’s strategy of pouring funds into drug interdiction efforts — first in Colombia, then in Mexico — had actually pushed cartels and gangs to safer havens in Central America, he charged. President Hernández added that … Read more
Centroamérica sigue tan violenta como siempre. ¿Cómo podría cambiar?
Read in English La primera vez que intenté visitar Suchitoto era una ciudad en estado de sitio. Las guerrillas de izquierda que controlaban el cercano volcán Guazapa estaban tratando de correr a los militares. Tres cuartas partes de sus 40.000 habitantes habían huido o muerto. La vida era miserable para los que se quedaron en … Read more
Central America Is As Violent As Ever. What Would it Take to Change?
Leer en español The first time I tried to visit Suchitoto, it was a town under siege. Left-wing guerrillas who held the nearby Guazapa volcano were trying to drive the military out. Three-quarters of the town’s 40,000 population had fled or been killed – and life was miserable for those who remained, as sabotage attacks … Read more
Life in Venezuela’s – and the World’s – Most Violent City
Leer en español Already the most dangerous city in the world, Venezuela’s capital is only getting more dangerous for people like city councilman Jesús Armas. Since the 29-year-old was first elected in December 2013, he has seen the Caracas’ murder rate rise to 120 homicides per 100,000 people – and he expects this to worsen further amid … Read more
Anger Management and Gun Control? New Ways to Reduce Violence in Latin America
Reducing violence is not about controlling violent neighborhoods or even about controlling violent people. It is about inducing people to control themselves. That’s it. The best policing comes when no police are required. The question is how to achieve this in Latin America, the most violent region in the world and home to countries like … Read more
This Week in Latin America: Obama in Havana, Venezuela in Crisis
Sign up here to get This Week in Latin America delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Cuba, Argentina Host Obama: Cuba and Argentina each play host to U.S. President Barack Obama this week, with human rights issues shading both visits. Today, Obama will hold a working meeting with Cuban President Raúl Castro, who will then host a state dinner … Read more
Uribe: Colombia Peace Deal Is “a Capitulation” to FARC
It’s been a challenging few years for Álvaro Uribe. His 2002-10 presidency of Colombia is still credited with a historic drop in violence and robust economic growth rates. But since leaving office with an approval rating upward of 75 percent, Uribe has watched the country move in a different direction. His chosen successor Juan Manuel … Read more
The Real Reason Behind Rising Violence in Mexico City
Until recently, Mexico City was considered an oasis in a country beset by skyrocketing violence. Even though one in two Mexican adults said they stopped going out at night for fear of being mugged or worse and one fourth of all adult Mexicans were victimized in 2014, the capital was largely exempt. In posh neighborhoods like … Read more
Brazil, Heaven and Hell in the Same Day
Last Thursday began beautifully, deep in the Brazilian Amazon, with a walk through a lush city park. I strolled among bougainvillea and castanha do Pará and samaúma trees. I saw a large red and blue macaw ambling down the sidewalk, and had just sat down to take a selfie with him when the little jerk … Read more
The Long View: How Argentina and Brazil Stepped Back from a Nuclear Race
In AQ’s feature on Latin American history, how Argentina and Brazil ensured their rivalry remained limited to the soccer field.
La pobreza en Latinoamérica esta bajando, pero la violencia sube. ¿Por qué?
Versão em portuguêsRead in English Con la pobreza en América Latina y el Caribe en sus niveles más bajos en décadas, ¿por qué la violencia está disparada? Aunque algunos países están peor que los demás, la región cuenta con las tasas de homicidios más altas del mundo. Esta relación es desconcertante y contradictoria. Los investigaores … Read more
Na América Latina, enquanto diminui a pobreza, aumenta a violência. Por quê?
Read in English Os índices de pobreza na América Latina e no Caribe atingiram seus níveis mais baixos em muitas décadas; por que, então, a violência continua acima do esperado? Embora alguns países estejam em situação pior que outros, a região como um todo apresenta as mais altas taxas de homicídio do mundo. Tal relação … Read more
