As part of his “Total Peace” plan, President Gustavo Petro has asked Colombia’s armed groups clamp down on lethal violence. While some have complied, others have traded conspicuous violence for other types of coercion, leading many to fear they are taking advantage of the government’s outreach to quietly dig in their heels.
Tareck El Aissami has resigned as Venezuela’s oil minister after a wave of arrests for alleged corruption at the state-owned oil company. It’s unclear whether the arrests signal an internal power struggle within the regime. But El Aissami, an influential confidant of Nicolas Maduro, likely is an important piece of the puzzle.
When Nayib Bukele was elected president of El Salvador four years ago, many observers hoped it might signal the start of a new era for the country, one characterized by accountability for the military and the defense of human rights. It’s hard to imagine how those hopes could have been more bitterly disappointed.
Sexual assault and violence within the U.S. military has become the focus of heightened attention in recent years, in part due to a series of high-profile cases. But despite recent efforts to address the problem, sexual assault in the military continues to rise, raising a number of issues from the standpoint of civil-military relations.
El Salvador’s controversial president, Nayib Bukele, has clearly captured Latin America’s imagination. Polls show that his image is quite favorable among the region’s general public, and some politicians are now trying to cash in on his popularity, offering approaches that play off of Bukele’s war against El Salvador’s gangs.
The “pink tide” that swept across Latin America in the early 2000s is making a comeback, after having been overtaken by a wave of conservative governments. Major advances in the region are also in danger, and Russia and China are deepening trade ties across the region. What’s next for South America?