If costly drug war strategies in Afghanistan have been unsuccessful even with a strong U.S. military presence, they won’t stand a chance after the U.S. withdraws.
The Afghan Drug War after 2014
read more
drug war
El Chapo Capture: What Happens When the Kingpin Falls?
U.S. officials are propping up the capture of Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman as a major drug war victory. They’re wrong.
SOTU: Obama Grades His Foreign Policy
Former law professor Barack Obama went into surprising depth on issues of war and peace during his fifth State of the Union address. Here’s how he should grade himself.
Anatomy of Election Fraud: Stealing the 2013 Honduran Election in Five Simple Steps
Through vote buying and brute violence, supporters of the 2009 coup in Honduras may have stolen the 2013 election.
At the UN, a Latin American Rebellion
Without a doubt, the 68th UN General Assembly will be remembered as a watershed. Nations reached an agreement on control of chemical weapons that could avoid a global war in Syria. The volatile stalemate on the Iran nuclear program came a step closer to diplomacy....
Beyond Drug Trafficking: Toward Genuine Security in the Caribbean
Drug trafficking is, by many accounts, a major security challenge in the Caribbean region. Due in part to aggressive counter-drug trafficking operations in Central America, drug traffickers based in Mexico and Colombia increasingly use the Caribbean as an alternative...
NAFTA at 20: The New Spin
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which went into effect on January 1, 1994, was touted as the cure for Mexico’s economic “backwardness.” Promoters argued that the trilateral trade agreement would dig Mexico out of its economic rut and modernize it along the lines of its mighty neighbor, the United States. Fat chance.
In Mexico, No Matter Which Party Holds the Reins, the People Lose
Part 2 of an interview with Drug War Mexico co-author Peter Watt.
Deregulation and Free Trade a Win-Win for Mexican Narcotraffickers
The Mexican government’s heavily militarized fight against narcotraffickers has helped keep the country mired in violence and inequality.
Killing Spree on the Border
On October 13, 2012, Mexican teenager José Antonio was hit by a hail of bullets coming from the U.S. side of the metal fence that lacerates the border city of Nogales. Some seven shots penetrated the boy’s body through the back and the head. He died instantly. The culprit? The U.S. border patrol.