Latin America

Twenty years of US neglect have created space for adversaries to build permanent footholds in the Western Hemisphere. Iran and other adversaries are quietly building an operational network in America’s backyard, one that sanctions alone cannot dismantle.  The Venezuela Nexus Recent testimony from Hugo “Pollo” Carvajal, Venezuela’s former intelligence chief, reveals the depth of Iran-Venezuela […]

Three leading right-wing politicians in Latin America, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, Argentine President Javier Milei, and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, have made much of their relationships with President Trump.  Bukele’s Prisons at Trump’s Disposal Of the three, Bukele has established the closest rapport with Trump, a major shift from the suspicion with which he […]

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was the charismatic leader of Argentina’s populist left for decades, elected twice as president, serving from 2007-2015, and again as vice president from 2019-2023. A fierce critic of Argentina’s current libertarian president Javier Milei, she was planning a comeback. Her plan to run for a seat in the legislature would have […]

The 1994 terrorist attack on the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires left 85 dead. While the prospect of bringing Iranian suspects to face justice in Argentina remains remote, there have been important judicial developments over the past 18 months. This could lay the groundwork for further international pressure on Iran.  Background: A Building Bombed, […]

Colombia was once seen as a success story. Threatened by violent insurgents, the country regained stability and, in 2016, reached a peace agreement with the largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Spanish initials FARC). All this was accomplished with sustained US security and economic support.  Lately, Colombia seems to be moving backwards. […]

The Organization of American States will select its next secretary general on March 10. The OAS is a platform for collective problem-solving among its 35 members states, representing all the sovereign states in the Western Hemisphere except for Cuba and Nicaragua. Among the organization’s strengths are programs on citizen security (such as law enforcement training) and […]

For decades, Argentina has been a cautionary tale of a once prosperous nation undergoing slow multi-decade collapse, proof of what happens when a society persistently ignores all the warning signs of prolonged mismanagement. In November 2023, Argentina’s voters broke with the past and elected Javier Milei, an economist with a wild haircut, the rhetorical style […]

Ten years ago, on January 18, 2015, an Argentinian prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, was murdered for investigating the 1994 terrorist bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. That 1994 attack killed 85 and wounded some 300, the largest single mass murder of Jews between the Holocaust of World War Two and October 7, […]

When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returned to Brazil’s presidency in 2023, it was clear that he wished to restore the high international profile which Brazil had enjoyed during his first two terms, 2003-2010. International expectations were high given that his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, had been largely uninterested in foreign policy. However, Lula has faced […]

Guatemala could become a key partner in the US efforts to manage migration flows from Central and South America. Looking ahead, whoever is elected the next president of the United States, either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, will look to Guatemala to help manage migration in the countries south of Mexico.  Guatemala has been a […]

Several left-leaning Latin American governments have criticized Israel for its response to the October 7 attack, including Mexico, Colombia, and Brazi. But Chile’s young president, Gabriel Boric, stands out for consistent harshness, which extends to his view of Chile’s Jewish community. Ethnic Politics in Chile Chile hosts Latin America’s largest Palestinian community, an estimated 400,000 […]

Nayib Bukele has been reelected president of El Salvador. The Salvadoran constitution prohibits consecutive terms as president but Salvadorans looked past the legal prohibitions to elect their young, charismatic, and popular president to a second five-year term. Bukele’s new term in power has implications for El Salvador’s postwar democracy and other populist leaders in the […]

Promising libertarian economic shock therapy and a new foreign policy, President Javier Milei is taking Argentina’s political scene by storm.  A Mandate for Change With an eleven-percentage point electoral victory on November 19, President Milei claims a mandate for radical change. His inauguration speech on December 10 broke with a tradition of addressing the legislature. […]

In the days and weeks after the October 7 terrorist attack and Israeli military response, some Latin American nations have distanced themselves politically from Israel. While views of the conflict are evolving, the Latin American public’s reliance on social media for news reports, amid relentlessly negative images of suffering in Gaza, has contributed to widespread […]

The second round of presidential elections in Guatemala on August 20 produced a surprising victor: center-left opposition politician Bernardo Arévalo, who had polled just 11 percent in the first round in June. Guatemalans have voted for change, but with a four-month presidential transition ahead, the election results will not be really final until inauguration day on […]

On June 25, just over 9 million Guatemalans will head to the polls to elect a president, vice president, members of congress, and municipal authorities. The story behind Guatemala’s elections is complicated. 

The new presidents of Colombia and Brazil, the two most prominent leaders in South America, are both looking to shake up the status quo – with different playbooks. Colombia’s Gustavo Petro takes a confrontational, boisterous, outspoken, and anti-establishment approach. Brazil’s Lula da Silva (“Lula”) is a pragmatic, conciliatory leader seeking to build broad coalitions around […]