Foreign Policy and National Security

  • General John Kelly, Commander of U.S. Southern Combatant Command, told an audience at the National Defense University on October 8 that Central American governments should seek to replicate “the miracle of Colombia” when it comes to security. Colombia is “a great example,” said Kelly, “of what can be done so long as a government and a…

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  • Last week, representatives of the Colombian government and the FARC rebel group began a 29th round of peace negotiations in Havana. Over the coming days, victims of the conflict will give testimony to the negotiators, who will eventually decide on the process for recognizing and compensating the many victims of the decades-long civil struggle…   Check out this new…

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  • Although it seemed unlikely just a few weeks ago, Senator Ivan Cepeda has managed to bring about a parliamentary inquiry into the alleged ties between politicians and illegal paramilitary groups in Colombia. Former President and current Senator Alvaro Uribe is the highest-profile figure to be linked to such groups, which are thought to be responsible for thousands of killings…

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  • In December of this year, construction is slated to begin on a five-year, $40 billion project to create a shipping lane linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through Lake Nicaragua, also known as Lake Colcibolca. Concrete details about the initiative, which is reportedly being managed by an enigmatic Chinese businessman named Wang Jing, have been few and vague since its unveiling in July.…

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  • On August 22, in the first of ten drug policy forums to be held around the country, Colombian Justice Minister Yesid Reyes expressed his belief that the nation must find “more efficient” policies than prohibition and imprisonment to deal with drug use. “The evaluation that should be made is how much has imprisonment affected the control…

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