The disbanding of the paramilitary United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) between 2003 and 2006 is seen by the administration of President Alvaro Uribe as a vital step toward peace. While taking some 32,000 AUC members out of the conflict has certainly altered the landscape of violence, there is growing evidence that new armed groups are emerging that are more than the simple “criminal gangs” that the government describes. Some of them are increasingly acting as the next generation of paramilitaries, and they require a more urgent and more comprehensive response from the government.

Latin America: an Agenda for Freedom, is part of this series of strategic proposals. This new report explains our interest in and concern for the future of western values in a specific part of the world: Latin America.

This 22-page report focuses specifically on information implicating Fujimori in five criminal cases currently pending in Peru, including human rights violations as well as acts of corruption that undermined Peru’s democratic institutions.

Taken together, the three volumes of the Club de Madrid Series on Democracy and Terrorism outline the elements of a comprehensive response to the challenge from terrorism. The third volume explores how the foundations of democratic governance (human rights, civil society, the rule of law, etc.) can be turned into assets rather than obstacles in the struggle against terrorism. Addresses the role of international institutions, legal responses, democracy promotion, human rights and civil society.

Taken together, the three volumes of the Club de Madrid Series on Democracy and Terrorism outline the elements of a comprehensive response to the challenge from terrorism. The second volume looks at the security side, including creative proposals for improving the effectiveness of the law enforcement effort. Deals with policing, intelligence, military responses, terrorist finance, and science and technology.