Security & Strategic Review - June 2023

The coronation of the UK’s King Charles III has given added impetus to the move away from the British monarchy as head of state in former colonies in the Caribbean.... Read More

Peru’s President Dina Boluarte has grown increasingly hardline on illegal migration since April, veering into the xenophobic with her rhetoric and blaming migrants for rising crime.... Read More

Colombia and Venezuela’s porous 2,200km border has presented both countries with security challenges for decades.... Read More

With Ecuador’s criminal groups mounting increasingly brazen and indiscriminate attacks in their battle to secure control over drug trafficking routes, the authorities are frequently framing these organisations as a threat to the state itself.... Read More

Paraguay’s presidential elections on 30 April delivered a resounding victory for the ruling Asociación Nacional Republicana-Partido Colorado (ANR-PC), with its candidate Santiago Peña collecting 42.7% of the vote, 15 points more than his closest challenger Efraín Alegre.... Read More

When Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited China from 12-14 April, not only did he sign 15 bilateral agreements with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, but he also met Chinese business leaders, such as the chairman of the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), Wang Tongzhou, and the head of the vehicle manufacturer BYD, Wang Chuanfu.... Read More

The world’s largest-ever outbreak of avian influenza has been decimating the global bird population since October 2021.... Read More

The production team of a Mexican television news station received a strange letter on 4 May.... Read More

A wave of violence swept San Cristóbal de las Casas, the second-largest city and ‘cultural capital’ of Chiapas state, following the murder on 17 April of an influential local artisan.... Read More

A controversial senate speed session saw senators from the ruling Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (Morena) and allied parties pass around 20 reforms within a few hours on the night of 28 April and early hours of 29 April.... Read More

President Rodrigo Chaves and his right-of-centre Partido Progreso Social Democrático (PPSD) marked their one-year anniversary in office on 8 May.... Read More

On 18 April the leftist Partido Libertad y Refundación (Libre) government led by President Xiomara Castro announced a new 10-point plan to intervene in Honduras’s prisons.... Read More

In early May, a Panamanian government delegation led by Economy & Finance (MEF) Minister Héctor Alexander held meetings with directors and officials from Belgium, the European Commission, and Germany as part of efforts to reiterate Panama’s commitment to transparency in the fight against money laundering.... Read More

On 6 May Nicaraguan investigative media outlet Confidencial published the findings of an investigation into how President Daniel Ortega has secured the support of the military, which is essential to the continuance of his authoritarian government.... Read More

A detailed study on the role of firearms in Caribbean crime was published in April.... Read More