Security & Strategic Review - August 2026

Mexico’s government led by President Claudia Sheinbaum has been working hard to demonstrate to the US administration of President Donald Trump that it is taking the fight against drug cartels seriously.... Read More

Keiko Fujimori finally reached the end of her 15-year slog towards the Peruvian presidency on 28 July, when she was sworn into office.... Read More

The 2026 World Drug Report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), published on 25 June, showed that coca cultivation expanded in two of the world’s three leading producers from 2023-2024.... Read More

Ecuador’s new national security plan, which was published on 14 July and covers President Daniel Noboa’s 2025-2029 term, describes insecurity as a problem that must be tackled through force, but also through job creation, education, and a greater presence of the State in citizens’ lives.... Read More

Manuel Adorni, a close ally of President Javier Milei who served as both presidential spokesperson and later as cabinet chief, has stepped down from government after months of pressure due to an illicit enrichment scandal.... Read More

At the latest summit of the Mercosur regional trade bloc in late June, which was hosted in Paraguay, leaders from its member states as well as associate countries reiterated their commitments to boosting cooperation on combatting transnational crime.... Read More

Since taking over in March as interim governor of Brazil’s third most populous state, Rio de Janeiro, Ricardo Couto has sought to address alleged corruption that occurred during the administration of former governor Cláudio Castro (2021-2026), a member of the right-wing Partido Liberal (PL) who has been implicated in various corruption probes.... Read More

The conditions facing those searching for Mexico’s disappeared have once against entered the foreground, as search collectives used the increased publicity afforded by the country’s co-hosting of the Fifa World Cup in June and July to draw attention to their cause.... Read More

Domestic violence was thrown into the spotlight in late June after the wife of the former CEO of state-run oil company Pemex denounced physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her husband.... Read More

On 10 June Lina Ajoy, a seasoned Costa Rican diplomat, was appointed by the Central American Integration System (Sica) as its next secretary general for 2026-2030.... Read More

Since taking over in May from discredited attorney general (AG) María Consuelo Porras (2018-2026), who was subject to international sanctions, Gabriel García Luna has sparked optimism regarding the direction of anti-corruption efforts under Guatemala’s left-of-centre President Bernardo Arévalo [SSR-26-06].... Read More

In late June a contentious piece of legislation to strengthen and protect the agricultural sector took effect in Honduras.... Read More

Since taking office in May, Costa Rica’s new government led by President Laura Fernández, the protégée of her predecessor, conservative populist Rodrigo Chaves (2022-2026), has announced various security measures as well as progress regarding the construction of a new maximum-security prison, Centro de Alta Contención de la Criminalidad Organizada (Cacco).... Read More

A row in The Bahamas over the recruitment of 300 teachers from Ghana has provided a timely reminder of the demographic challenges for the Caribbean, which the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) is due to address in Uruguay at the upcoming 18-20 August Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.... Read More

The demands for reparations for slavery and related injustices have been highlighted in recent months.... Read More