Colombia ’s laws on violence against women are not adequately protecting victims displaced by the armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Approximately two million internally displaced women and girls face high rates of rape and domestic violence. Daunting obstacles impede displaced victims’ access to healthcare, justice, and protection services. The 101-page report, documents how recent improvements in Colombia’s laws, policies, and...

Luis David Ortíz Salinas, President of Congress of Nuevo León Juan Carlos Ruiz García, Coordinator of the PAN Edgar Romo García, Coordinator of the PRI Francisco Reynaldo Cienfuegos Martínez, President of the Justice and Public Security Commission José Juan Guajardo Martínez, President of the Social Development and Human Rights Commission Celina del Carmen Hernández Garza, Vice President of the Social Development and Human Rights...

Two days prior to the Venezuelan presidential election, Francisco Toro, a Venezuelan journalist and blogger, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times stating that Chavez and his movement have become irrelevant. As Chavez’s socialism is becoming increasingly authoritarian and has failed to reduce poverty, Toro claims that it is no longer an exemplary to other Latin American states; in his opinion, it is Brazil’s template-combining free enterprise and democracy with social programs...

But another significant, and so far less widely discussed, issue is coming to the fore - if and when peace is achieved, what role can or should the Colombian military play? Much of the focus to date has seemingly been around the possible demobilisation of the several thousand Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels who have been fighting the Colombian state for almost five decades. "People are talking about the demobilisation of the Farc," retired Col Hugo Bahamon...

Dear President-Elect Peña Nieto, You are ending a European tour with a visit to Paris before being sworn in as your country’s next president on 1 December. Tomorrow you will meet with French President François Hollande and the next day you will address the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on "Changes in Mexico and their role in the panorama of global change." Will the changes your refer to include the tragic toll of a decade of extreme...

The upcoming October 7th elections in Venezuela do not constitute just another round of elections in another country. These elections are crucial for the future of Latin America and for the security of the United States. In fact, it is no exaggeration to point out that the Venezuelan drama should be as great a concern as the elections in the young democracies of the Middle East that emerged in the aftermath of the Arab spring. Unfortunately, the Venezuelan electoral process has been...

Venezuela's cancer-stricken leader, Hugo Chávez, appears to be losing ground to opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski, and the ruling party is taking dramatic steps to bully the opposition and to whitewash the results of the Oct. 7 balloting. Only in Venezuela could violent street gangs and a former U.S. president be on the same team. According to sources in Miraflores palace, about two months ago, Chávez began refusing cancer treatment and check-ups, insisting...

After decades of failed negotiations and attempts to defeat the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas and the smaller National Liberation Army (ELN) militarily, a political solution to the Western Hemisphere’s oldest conflict may be in sight. Following a year of secret contacts, formal peace talks with FARC are to open in Oslo in October 2012 and continue in Havana. They may be extended to the ELN. There seems a firmer willingness to reach an agreement, as the...

Early in October, peace negotiations will take place between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Oslo, Norway. If successful, the talks will continue in Havana, Cuba. These talks are taking place against the backdrop of major military victories by the Colombian army against the FARC, the elimination of key FARC leaders in the last four years, and, confirmed connections between the FARC and the governments of Venezuela and Ecuador. The upcoming...

To provide for a comprehensive strategy to counter Iran’s growing hostile presence and activity in the Western Hemisphere, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SEC. 2. Findings. Congress finds the following: (2) Iran is pursuing cooperation with Latin American countries by signing economic and security agreements in order to create a network of diplomatic and economic...