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2 months ago | 
smallwarsjournal.com | Henry Ziemer
“The drug cartels are waging war on America—and it’s now time for America to wage war on the cartels,” these words, from a statement by President Donald Trump from 2023, reflect a nascent consensus within the Republican foreign policy establishment. Built up over years of growing anxiety over drugs, crime, and illegal immigration, the belief that the United States should take kinetic action against criminal organizations in its southern neighbor is trickling into the political mainstream.
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Jan 9, 2025 | 
csis.org | Christopher Hernandez-Roy |Juliana Rubio |Henry Ziemer |Rubi Bledsoe
Latin America has witnessed some of the homicide rates in the world, largely driven by gang violence and transnational criminal groups. Throughout the Western Hemisphere, states have experimented with many types of security policies; however, one stands out for its political popularity and the frequency with which it is employed—mano dura. Mano dura is defined by experts Lucía Dammert et al.
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Nov 16, 2024 | 
realcleardefense.com | Henry Ziemer
The United States’ foundations as a global great power rest in no small part on its status as a regional hegemon. No single country in the Western Hemisphere can make a serious bid to balance Washington’s economic and military might, to say nothing of competing with the close but often-overlooked bonds of trade, culture, and family which constitute vital elements of U.S. strength in the region.
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Oct 28, 2024 | 
csis.org | Ryan Berg |Christopher Hernandez-Roy |Rubi Bledsoe |Henry Ziemer
From October 22–24, 2024, BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—met in the Russian city of Kazan for their highly anticipated yearly summit. While BRICS summits rarely produce groundbreaking final documents, a product of their internal diversity, this summit was notable for several developments. It saw the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for their first summit.
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Sep 18, 2024 | 
latinvex.com | Ryan Berg |Michael Ferguson |Henry Ziemer
Mexico’s telecommunications sector competitiveness amid a changing economic landscape. BY RYAN C. BERG, MICHAEL FERGUSON, AND HENRY ZIEMERMexico has emerged as one of the most viable destinations for the nearshoring of U.S. investment and supply chains, owing to its close geographical proximity, skilled workforce, and formal economic integration with its North American partners through the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
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Sep 12, 2024 | 
csis.org | Ryan Berg |Michael Ferguson |Henry Ziemer
IntroductionMexico has emerged as one of the most viable destinations for the nearshoring of U.S. investment and supply chains, owing to its close geographical proximity, skilled workforce, and formal economic integration with its North American partners through the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
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Jun 15, 2024 | 
thediplomat.com | Henry Ziemer
On February 24, Venezuelan K-8W light attack jets flew from the eastern port city of Guiria over the Atlantic in a show of force directed at the country’s neighbor, Guyana. The Chinese-made aircraft were emblazoned with the slogan “El Essequibo es Nuestro” (“Essequibo is ours”) in reference to the disputed territory claimed by Venezuela but administered by Guyana. The government of Nicolás Maduro has been steadily ratcheting up tensions around the territorial dispute for the past nine months.
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Jun 6, 2024 | 
globalamericans.org | Henry Ziemer
Image Source: World Politics Review. “We are interested in adapting the Bukele model”. These words, spoken by Argentina’s Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich, seem to encapsulate evolving attitudes towards security policy in Latin America. The region has long held the dubious honor of having the highest homicide rate in the world. Home to roughly 8 percent of the world’s inhabitants, Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for a third of all murders in 2021.
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May 15, 2024 | 
csis.org | Ryan Berg |Henry Ziemer |Emiliano Polo Anaya
The IssueThe People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the principal strategic competitor of the United States. In addition to antagonism in other domains, this rivalry entails escalating technological competition. No country is technologically self-sufficient, but the United States’ reliance on China’s considerable market share in the critical minerals industry for semiconductor supply chains creates a dependency that turns a trade imbalance into a potential national security threat.
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May 14, 2024 | 
csis.org | Ryan Berg |Christopher Hernandez-Roy |Henry Ziemer |Rubi Bledsoe
As domestic challenges to Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela have mounted, he has doubled down on a compellence strategy against Guyana that is full of escalation risks and potential for miscalculation. Since February 9, when CSIS last reported on Venezuela’s military activities near the Essequibo, Maduro has ordered the Venezuelan military to deploy weapons and equipment and increase its state of readiness on Guyana’s doorstep.
