The FARC’s escalating demands; ongoing attacks and intransigence demonstrate that it doesn’t really want peace.
The current dialogue between the Colombian government and the FARC has no chance of ending in a definitive peace agreement. Various factors threaten its success: the guerrillas’ arrogant and demanding negotiating style, the lack of public support for the talks and sheer time constraints. Since the peace talks began in Havana, the FARC has sabotaged … Read more
Pragmatism on both sides of the negotiating table suggests a willingness to end the armed conflict.
After 50 years of armed conflict, the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC) have an unprecedented opportunity to break with the patterns of violence and underdevelopment that have plagued the country for decades. The Colombian government had promoted similar peace talks between 1999 and 2002, yet two … Read more
Journalism in Post-Coup Honduras
During the past two decades, as transnational criminal networks have expanded their reach, violence and murder have plagued several Latin American countries. But even among those countries, Honduras stands apart. With an annual homicide rate of 85.5 murders per 100,000 inhabitants—an average of 598 a month, 20 a day, according to a 2012 study conducted … Read more
Impunity & the Multiple Facets of Violence in Brazil
In June and August of this year, millions of Brazilians took to the streets in 120 cities across the country to protest public transportation fare hikes, political corruption and excessive public spending on the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Dozens of these demonstrations ended in confrontations between police and protesters. Over the … Read more
Haiti Ranked Second in Global Slavery Index
Thirty million people live in modern slave-like conditions according to a report published by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation yesterday, titled the Global Slavery Index. An estimated 3.73 percent of the 29.6 millions of people in modern slavery—defined as those exposed to a range of practices, including forced and bonded labor, human trafficking, forced marriages, … Read more
Hard Talk
Will the negotiations between the government and the FARC bring lasting peace to Colombia? Yes: Aldo Civico; No: Alfredo Rangel
A Check on Trust for Rio’s Expanding Pacification Program
Two contrasting images of the police pacification programs in Rio de Janeiro this week are likely to remain in the public’s memory. The first is the swift and publicity-laden police occupation on Sunday of the Lins de Vasconcelos favela in Rio’s Northern Zone, where the Brazilian and Rio state flags were flown in a demonstration … Read more
Brazil Demands Explanation from Canada over Spying Report
On Monday, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff demanded an explanation from the Canadian government over a media report that claims the North American country spied on Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry—the institution that manages the country’s mineral and oil resources. This comes only a few weeks after a similar report claimed the United States was also … Read more
Legislators Move to Restrict NSA Surveillance in Brazil
On Thursday, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff asked legislators to quickly approve a bill that would require technology companies to store private user data on Brazilian-based servers and comply with Brazil’s digital privacy laws. This comes as members of Brazil’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee also announced yesterday that they would seek meetings with Edward J. Snowden, … Read more
The Shining Path: Battered, but Unbroken
BOGOTA – It is somewhat ironic that Douglas MacArthur’s famous observation that “old soldiers never die, they just fade away” is also an apt description of the life cycle of terrorist organizations. At least, it certainly applies to the Shining Path organization. Casual observers of South America might be surprised to discover that the Shining … Read more
Peace Talks with FARC Ruled Constitutional
The Constitutional Court of Colombia, the country’s highest court, ruled yesterday that peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia—FARC) are constitutional, rejecting a legal challenge that would have stalled negotiations in ending over 50 years of conflict. The decision comes after several weeks of the court listening … Read more
Los desplazados: una cara poco estudiada de la violencia en México
La violencia producto del narcotráfico—con todas sus vertientes como son la corrupción en el gobierno y en las fuerzas del orden, el enfrentamiento entre bandas y la apertura a otros negocios igual de ilícitos y rentables como extorsión, trata de blancas, lavado de dinero y un largo etcétera—ha propiciado un fenómeno que apenas en las … Read more
Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador Discuss Security
Defense Minister Celso Amorim of Brazil met with his counterparts, Juan Carlos Pinzón of Colombia and María Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, in the Brazilian city of Manaus Thursday morning. The meeting was focused on strengthening security cooperation between the three nations that border the Amazon. Protecting the Amazon from illegal activities was the main topic of the meeting organized as part of a … Read more
New Violence Hits Honduras
At least ten people—including women and children—were killed in a shootout between rival drug gangs in northeastern Honduras on Tuesday. The total death toll in the rural La Mosquita region on Honduras’ Atlantic coast could be as high as 16 according to local authorities, adding to the over 3,000 homicides reported in the first six … Read more
Suspects in Police Massacre Tied to Guatemala’s Villatoro Cano Cartel
Sixteen suspects were captured in recent weeks for their role in the June 13 massacre of an entire police station in Salcajá, Guatemala, a case that has shocked a country with a high threshold for violent acts. Still, many unanswered questions remain. Gunmen killed all eight officers on duty in the assault on the Policía … Read more
