This business has not changed for good. On the contrary, in 2013 NGO Citizen Action against AIDS (Accsi) drafted a report relying on surveys that showed -at least partially- the handful of degrading actions undergone by sexually diverse people from police agents and almost nil formal logging of related claims. In 2008, another report, containing a larger number of interviewees, delved into the matter and showed an even worse scenario marked by impunity. Now, a new survey gives a clue on a...

Venezuela is in a death spiral that could produce a crisis for the United States. Economic collapse, incompetent leadership and Cuban meddling may provoke a showdown among well-armed chavista rivals, with civilians caught in the crossfire. US diplomats, who've spent years ignoring or minimizing threats emanating from Venezuela, must act urgently to prevent a Syria scenario on our doorstep. The late dictator Hugo Chávez left behind a mess: His divisive, illegitimate regime polarized...

Latin America and the Caribbean will celebrate at least . This is good news. It reflects a region that has by-and-large consolidated democracy, and where an entire generation has now grown up with the expectation that elections are the only legitimate way to select national leaders. However, this cycle of elections in Latin America is taking place at very different juncture than the ones that took place during the first decade of the 21st century, with important consequences for the...

Early this year the Argentine prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, disclosed a 500-page document of evidence of Iran’s terrorist networks in Latin America. It included a number of countries, among which were Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and Uruguay. Iran’s activities in some of these countries are carried out with the direct or indirect support from the local government. For example, in my , I described the role played by the...

THE EXPULSION of three U.S. diplomats by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last week should be taken as one more symptom of the unravelling of the crackpot socialist regime inflicted on the country by the late Hugo Chávez. Mr. Maduro, a former bus driver picked by Mr. Chavez to replace him as he was dying of cancer, accused Charge D'affairs Kelly Keiderling and two colleagues of plotting to sabotage the crumbling national electric grid, histrionically shouting "Yankee, go...

Imagine if The Godfather character, Don Vito Corleone, died and left his hapless son, Fredo, in charge of the family business. That is essentially what happened in Venezuela when the caudillo Hugo Chávez died last year and Nicolás Maduro took power. As a result, the inevitable economic collapse and raging internal power struggle in that nation will have very grave consequences for the stability and security of the Americas. Observers snickered last week when Maduro, on his way...

Illegal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering and smuggling are financing the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah in Latin America, according to experts and authorities. Increasingly strong evidence shows the Lebanon-based Shiite militia sponsored by Iran maintains ties with drug cartels and receives contributions from organized crime groups. “The money is used to maintain a military structure and finance social activities among Shiite populations in Lebanon and the...

The Venezuelan military’s role as perpetrator of violence continues to make news. In a press release put out on August 8, human rights group Provea pointed out that from May to July Venezeula’s armed forces were involved in at least 8 violations of the “the right to life.” In 2012 164 people lost their lives at the hands of the military. Provea’s statistics are taken from Venezuela’s investigative police the CICPC. In a piece of news analysis called...

Central America constitutes an important strategic area for the United States. As discussed in my recent book “Latin America in the Post-Chavez Era: The Threat to U.S. Security”, legal and institutional collapse in Central America could have very serious consequences for regional and U.S security. Central America has been victim to increasing drug cartel activity as the situation in Colombia and Mexico has turned more complicated for the drug lords. In addition, Central America is...

At a time when several Latin American economies should be "firing on all cylinders" to sustain growth and development, their critical petroleum sectors are under performing Despite hopeful projections, the biggest energy companies in Latin America are controlled by the state and are hampered by government interference and short-term political agendas. Although these companies should be the engines of growth for their national economies, resource nationalism and popular gasoline...