American law enforcement agencies have significantly built up networks of Mexican informants that have allowed them to secretly infiltrate some of that country’s most powerful and dangerous criminal organizations, according to security officials on both sides of the border. Typically, the officials said, Mexico is kept in the dark about the United States’ contacts with its most secret informants - including Mexican law enforcement officers, elected officials and cartel...

Until Chavez assumed power Iran's presence in the Western Hemisphere was not as strong as it is today. Its proxy, Hezbollah, had presence and even committed a number of atrocities in Latin America such as the attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Buenos Aires. However, its presence increased manifold since Chavez and his Bolivarian revolution began to spread throughout the hemisphere. Not surprisingly the Iranians have tried to carry out another act of terrorism by attempting to...

Events of 2010 Many of Mexico's most significant human rights issues in 2010 stemmed from violent confrontations between state security forces and organized crime, as well as clashes among criminal groups. The Mexican military continues to commit serious abuses in public security operations, yet those responsible are virtually never held accountable. Journalists, human rights defenders, and migrants are increasingly the targets of attacks by criminal groups and members of security forces, yet...

After decades of poking around crime scenes, digging into conspiracies and hanging out with cops and politicians, columnist Miguel Angel Lopez had earned his stripes as journalistic alpha dog of the crime and corruption beat in this steamy port on the Gulf of Mexico. But even Lopez hardly could have imagined the speed with which hit men would take his life and those of his wife and 21-year-old son. It was 6 a.m. on a June day when two vehicles arrived at the journalist's custard-yellow...

As in the United States, the Mexican campaign season for president is now in full swing. One of the main issues being debated by the current crop of presidential hopefuls prior to Mexico’s July, 2012 presidential elections is whether or not the current policy of fighting the drug cartels is sustainable. President Felipe Calderon and his party, the Party for National Action (PAN) are being attacked by the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI) and by the Democratic Revolutionary Party...

Hizballah is a Shiite Muslim movement, Iranian-created and -funded, which strongarms Lebanon through threats and violence, assaults Israel with rockets obtained through Syria in contravention of UN resolutions, and is funded through massive criminal enterprises. And it has arrived in the Americas. Evidence for Hizballah's criminal and terrorist activities in the Western hemisphere continues to build. The implications for the U.S., for Israel, and for Jews globally are ominous. Why, then, is...

Markets and Democracy Briefs are published by CFR’s Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy initiative. They are designed to offer readers a concise snapshot of current thinking on critical issues surrounding democracy and economic development in the world today. Opening Mexico's Economy Mexico began to open up its economy in the 1980s when collapsing petroleum prices and rising international interest ratesmade its import-substitution economic model?characterized by high levels of...

Pakistan became the most deadly country for journalists in 2010, with eight colleagues killed during the year in connection with their work. In a year when 42 journalists were killed worldwide, Honduras, Mexico and Iraq also ranked high, the Committee to Protect Journalists says in a year-end analysis. See more world news coverage of CPJ’s report. In Mexico, where crime, violence, and corruption have devastated the country’s journalism, CPJ has confirmed that three journalists...

The conference that drew Latin American leaders from all walks of life to a college campus in California was billed as a celebration of 200 years of independence for the region. However, the focus at the Institute of the Americas was not on past triumphs, but on the difficulties that many countries face today in strengthening democracy and the rule of law. As Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez said, “The transition to democracy has been a success story for all of Latin...

Mexico today increasingly resembles Colombia 25 years ago. Drug cartels are strengthening rapidly, Mexico's governmental authority and legitimacy are weakening and the people are deeply divided over how to respond to the cartels' challenge to Mexico's civil society. The stakes for the United States were high in Colombia back then, but they are even higher now in Mexico. The drug cartel threat has already rendered broad areas on our side of the border unsafe. The State Department has...