A protest against the pardon of former President Alberto Fujimori. The poster reads in Spanish, “assassin, thief, no to pardon,” Lima, Peru, Dec. 25, 2017 (AP photo by Martin Mejia).

LIMA, Peru—Peruvians had a hard time enough concentrating on Christmas preparations as they watched their president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, barely avoid impeachment on corruption charges on Dec. 21. But then, three days later, on Christmas Eve, Kuczynski pardoned former President Alberto Fujimori. Known for his authoritarianism and human rights abuses during his decade in power in the 1990s, Fujimori spent the past 12 years in jail, convicted of corruption and crimes against humanity. His divisive pardon has already sparked large protests. The riveting political drama during a week that is usually reserved for shopping and parties caps a tumultuous year […]

People search for their names on voter lists for mayoral elections at a polling station, Caracas, Venezuela, Dec. 10, 2017 (AP photo by Ariana Cubillos).

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, managing editor, Frederick Deknatel, and associate editor, Omar H. Rahman, discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin’s victory lap during his visit to Syria on Dec. 11 and the extent of Russian influence in a changing Middle East. For the Report, Stephania Corpi talks with Peter Dörrie about how the ongoing political, economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela is driving a wave of outmigration into neighboring countries in South America. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines, as well as what you’ve seen on WPR, please think about supporting our […]

Argentina’s former president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, greets supporters outside a courthouse in Buenos Aires, Oct. 26, 2017 (AP photo by Natacha Pisarenko).

Last week, a judge in Argentina sent a jolt across the country by ordering the arrest of former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on charges of treason. It was an indictment so powerful that the shock waves must have been felt all the way to Tehran and Beirut. If the government of Iran and the leadership of Hezbollah are not watching events in Buenos Aires very closely, they really should. The case in Argentina has the power not only to bring an ignominious end to the careers of prominent Argentinian figures, but it is sure to put an unwelcome spotlight […]

A U.N. peacekeeper from Brazil attends the end of operations ceremony for the United Nations Stabilization Mission, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Oct. 5, 2017 (AP photo by Dieu Nalio Chery).

In late November, the United Nations undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations, Jean-Pierre La Croix, asked Brazil to contribute troops to the U.N. mission in the Central African Republic. This week, Brazil reportedly agreed to that request. Though it has traditionally eschewed military interventionism, Brazil has assumed an increasingly prominent role in peacekeeping missions in recent years. In an email interview, Kai Michael Kenkel, an associate professor at the Institute of International Relations at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, discusses Brazil’s engagement in peacekeeping operations and how this plays politically at home. WPR: What is the recent history of […]

1

LIMA, Peru—Last December, Maria Victoria Fernandez, a 26-year-old nurse from Caracas, Venezuela, began traveling by bus to Peru, having decided that life in her home country was no longer tenable. The journey of nearly 3,000 miles through Colombia and Ecuador and down Peru’s Pacific coastline to Lima took her five days to complete. She had $170 in her pocket and her 2-year-old daughter, Sofia, on her lap. The day they left home, Sofia fell sick, meaning the trip was, for Fernandez, more stressful than any hospital shift she could remember. “We didn’t have medicine, and she had a fever and […]

Sri Lankan Tamil activists observe a moment of silence near a makeshift monument where thousands were killed in fighting between the army and Tamil Tiger rebels, Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, May 18, 2015 (AP photo by Eranga Jayawardena).

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—For an outsider trying to unravel the complexities of Sri Lanka’s postwar challenges, the country presents countless tangled and unexpected threads. Among the surprises is that the most unlikely of countries, a nation half a world away—one that on the surface has very little in common with Sri Lanka—is playing an important role in guiding Sri Lanka forward. Colombia, the South American nation that just a year ago signed a peace agreement with rebels to end its own lengthy war, is lending its knowledge and expertise to help Sri Lanka tread a path toward peace and stability. The […]

Supporters of Argentina’s former president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, chant slogans outside the court where she appeared before a judge on a corruption case, Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 7, 2017 (AP photo by Victor R. Caivano).

Argentines watched in shock last month as former Vice President Amado Boudou was arrested and put in pre-trial detention on corruption charges. It was the latest in a string of arrests of former officials from ex-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s administration, causing many to question whether the former president, who faces indictments in several criminal cases, could be next. But although a section of Argentina’s population was elated at the media spectacle of the disheveled, barefoot vice president in handcuffs, the arrest caused journalists and politicians from across the political spectrum to question whether the judiciary is starting to abuse […]

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, center right, accompanied by a group of military commanders, arrives for a session of the Constitutional Assembly, Caracas, Aug. 8, 2017 (AP photo by Ariana Cubillos).

On Nov. 26, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro handed over leadership of the national oil company, PDVSA, to Manuel Quevedo, a general with no experience in the energy sector. The move comes after a series of arrests of officials within PDVSA on corruption charges, including six earlier in November. In an email interview, David Smilde, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America and curator of the blog Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights, discusses Maduro’s underlying political motivations for the moves and the military’s increasing control of Venezuela’s economy. WPR: Maduro has arrested around 50 PDVSA officials since August, […]