Executive Summary: Following the recent terrorist attack in Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province, Iran appealed to Interpol for assistance in bringing the perpetrators to justice. Yet Iran has persistently refused to cooperate with Interpol over the five Iranian citizens wanted for the bombing of the AMIA centre in Buenos Aires in 1994. The bombing in 1994 caused the death of 85 people, and came after Argentina cancelled nuclear contracts which it had agreed with Iran. After a long and...

Figures contradict U.S. numbers; complaints rise as drug war rages.The Mexican military has convicted just one soldier of a serious human rights violation during a bloody, three-year campaign against drug traffickers, according to Interior Ministry figures that are significantly lower than those reported by the U.S. government. The Mexican military has come under scrutiny because of a surge in complaints against soldiers, including allegations of torture, beatings and illegal raids and...

President Ahmadinejad’s visited Brazil last week vindicates Iran’s strategy of cosying up with Latin America. HOW should you deal with elected leaders who view their domestic opponents as agents of foreign powers and occasionally muse about invading their neighbours? Brazil has some experience of this question after ten years of the presidency of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela. Its answer has always been simple: hug them close. This week that approach was stretched a little...

A dictatorship that fosters the production and distribution of cocaine is not apt to enjoy a positive international image. But when that same government cloaks itself in the language of social justice, with a special emphasis on the enfranchisement of indigenous people, it wins world-wide acclaim. This is Bolivia, which in two weeks will hold elections for president and both houses of congress. The government of President Evo Morales will spin the event as a great moment in South American...

With U.S. policymakers distracted by the situation in Honduras, Nicaragua continues to move toward authoritarianism. On October 19, a Nicaraguan Supreme Court panel overturned a constitutional provision limiting presidents to two non-consecutive terms in office. The ruling will allow incumbent Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega--the Sandinista party leader, former Soviet client, vociferous critic of the United States, and current Hugo Chávez acolyte--to run for another term in 2011. If...

Dmitri Medvedev and Barack Obama, presidents of Russia and the United States, will discuss, during the official visit of the American president to Moscow from 6th to 8th July, measurements to achieve a mutual compromise on nuclear arms reduction, of no proliferation, and the possibility of working together in an antimissile defense. However, analysts from the Latin-American Circle for International Studies (LACIS), a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to analyze, investigate...

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The possibility of an imperialist war in the Americas came a step closer on October 30, when Colombia and the United States finalised a 10-year accord. The agreement allows the US to hugely expand its military presence in the Latin American nation. It comes as the US seeks to regain its dominance over Latin America, which has declined over the past decade in the context of a continent-wide rebellion against neoliberalism - spearheaded by the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela. To regain...

Whether it's called an "arms race" or a "coincidental modernization" of existing stocks, a wave of weapons purchases by Latin American nations is causing neighbors to watch each other with growing mistrust and fear. Brazil says it must protect its newfound oil and gas riches. Venezuela says the U.S. military might attack it. Colombia is worried by Venezuela, Ecuador is watching Colombia, and Paraguay is keeping an eye on Bolivia. There's no question that weapons sales...

Anti-Semitism is on the rise in Spain, with more public expressions and greater acceptance of virulent anti-Jewish attitudes, according to a newly issued report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Polluting the Public Square: Anti-Semitic Discourse in Spain examines recent trends in Spain, including anti-Semitic criticism during Israel's three-week military campaign in Gaza last winter; viciously anti-Semitic cartoons and articles in Spain's mainstream media; and opinion polls conducted...