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Hello!
Welcome to the Newsletter of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung's Regional Center on Peace and Security
| | Human rights in Latin America: challenges arising from an unfulfilled promise | The deterioration of human rights due to violence and inequality is evident in Latin America. Of the 50 most violent cities in the world, 45 are on this continent. Guillermo Fernández-Maldonado examines a region that stands out for its normative-institutional development of human rights and, at the same time, for its non-compliance. | | | |
Cocaine: The thread connecting Latin America and the Caribbean to Europe | Cocaine is the thread that connects organized crime in Latin America with organized crime in Europe, and from there, projects itself globally. Mabel González Bustelo describes the evolution of these links, the constant reinvention of the actors involved and their methods, and the growing danger due to the use of new technologies -including artificial intelligence- that force a more strategic approach in their combat. | | | |
As drug trafficking advances in neighborhoods, solidarity resists | In Argentina, the presence of drug trafficking has different degrees of development, especially in the so-called villas miseria [slums] and working-class neighborhoods: greater presence, greater territorial control, and business expansion. Criminal gangs have taken advantage of the territorial vacuum generated by the reduction of public policies aimed at social containment and poverty alleviation, as well as the State's attacks on the different types of neighborhood organizations. Matías Pacheco, from the Organizations in Combat Front (FOL, by its Spanish acronym), explains the situation. | | | | |
In the first months of Donald Trump's presidency, Latin America has come to the forefront. For WOLA, this is reflected in cutbacks in U.S. aid, threats to regain control of the Panama Canal and intervene militarily in Mexico, as well as higher tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and much of the rest of the world. Additionally, this involves the externalization of immigration responsibilities through agreements with other countries. All of these issues present the region with a new and complex era in its relationship with Washington.
Trump's communicational style is so striking that it is difficult to decipher the factors, roots, and depth of the changes underway. "Donald Trump does not let us see the forest", assures Augusto Varas, who, in this text (published in three parts by El Mostrador), identifies both the social, political, and economic constants and the original elements of the new form of governance of Trumpism.
The externalization of migration and protection issues, in some cases unlawfully, has become a lynchpin of U.S. hard power. The New York Times reconstructs how Trump's plan to deport Venezuelan citizens to El Salvador was put together. Those Venezuelans, whose names have not been released by U.S. or Salvadoran authorities, are being held in a mega-prison, denounced for human rights violations committed there, extrajudicially and without charges against them, are now "ghosts" in U.S. courts. Although enforced disappearance is not codified in U.S. law, actions such as this could fall under the definition. In this webinar, Latin American experts share experiences from their region in combating this practice, which could be useful in the current context.
The newsletter No. 58 of the Latin American Network of United States Research (RELEU, by its Spanish acronym) contains numerous academic resources, press, and agenda of activities, including analysis on the Trump Administration and Latin America, U.S.-China competition in the region, Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, and trade policy.
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On the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference, which marked the beginning of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1955, the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB, by its Spanish acronym) examines in a special issue how diverse actors from the Global South are influencing global norms, institutions and agendas. The countries that form it are a diverse, growing, and relevant force in the international system, challenging the dominant frameworks of international relations.
Within the heterogeneous group that is the Global South, the BRICS bloc stands out. In this edition of the program Room Service en la Selva Global, Andrés Serbin explores their future possibilities.
The Chatham House report Competing visions of international order presents an assessment of the changes in the world and how eleven key states, from the U.S. to Brazil, France, and Germany, are positioning themselves in this more fractured world. It also explores how emerging or middle powers, such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and India, are pursuing visions of international order that include elements of non-alignment, strategic autonomy, and selective or transactional cooperation with the current order.
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The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Regional Center on Peace and Security in Latin America has conducted a consultation among experts from Latin America, Europe, and the United States on the challenges to security in the region. Organized crime and the associated dynamics of violence emerge as one of the main threat factors, with transnational impact. The results of the survey can be found in Desafíos a la seguridad en América Latina: resultados de un sondeo.
Latin American youth experience insecurity not as a piece of data, but as a daily reality. This FES podcast shows that, after unemployment and lack of access to rights, organized crime, drug trafficking, and violence are the main concerns of young people in the region and a major reason for migration.
But crime and violence are not just endogenous phenomena. Weapons arriving from the United States are a key factor in explaining the firepower of organized crime. In this context, the lawsuit filed by Mexico against US gun manufacturers takes on even greater significance.
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The 2025 electoral process in Ecuador took place in a context of institutional crisis, high levels of political violence, territorial presence of criminal gangs, and a marked weakening of citizen confidence in the democratic system. The Citizen Observatory of Political Violence (OCVP, by its Spanish acronym) has investigated the facts and trends presented.
In the study Del medio al miedo, CONNECTAS denounces that criminal organizations are taking their violence to social media to instill fear. Videos of murders and threats are circulating on platforms such as TikTok, Twitter, and Telegram, a trend that is fueled by weak controls on virtual platforms. In another report, they point out that, since the declaration of the armed conflict, disappearances of minors in Ecuador increased by 88%. The organized crime uses recruitment and sex trafficking, and, in the last year, the military has been singled out for the disappearance of at least nine teenagers.
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In Haiti, too, violence is taking its toll on children through the rape of boys and girls, forced recruitment, involvement in armed gangs with little prospect for subsequent reintegration, and all this against a backdrop of hunger and closed schools. Humanitarian and human rights organizations warn that their future is at risk.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has initiated conversations with the Organization of American States (OAS) to design a security plan that would allow troops from Latin American countries to be deployed to confront criminal gangs. It is unknown what the future of the initiative will hold, particularly in light of the UN's review of peace operations (see below), but the situation remains critical. The United Nations Office in Haiti (BINUH, by its French acronym) has counted more than 1,600 deaths and 580 injuries from gang violence during the first quarter of 2025. The Kenyan-led police mission has been unable to stop the deep-rooted violent dynamics.
Meanwhile, in May, The New York Times reported that the Haitian government had signed a contract with Erik Prince, founder of the mercenary company Blackwaters WorldWide, who now leads a coalition of private security firms. Prince will be in charge of putting together a team of mercenaries to fight the gangs. The article indicates that after the failure (and human rights violations in Iraq) of Prince and his company and attempts to be hired to operate in Afghanistan by the U.S. government, he is now trying to operate in Ecuador, Haiti, and other Latin American countries.
Christopher Sabatini and Robert Greenhill examine the international community's failure in this country and explore possible paths forward.
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With its rich copper reserves, Peru plays a key role in global supply chains, particularly in future projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions and facilitating the transition to a green economy. However, structural instability and the polarized nature of Peruvian politics are major obstacles to realizing this potential. A dialogue among the different strata of society is needed - government, civil society, private sector - on Peru's future vision and agenda for the mining economy. The Chatham House report State capacity, mining and community relations in Peru proposes convening a series of broad-based, multi-sectoral dialogues to develop inclusive points of consensus on mining, development and to secure Peru's place in global supply chains.
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UN peacekeeping operations must adapt to a changing world. In May, the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial showed political and budgetary support. But the Trump Administration is considering withdrawing its funding (25% of the total peacekeeping budget). Even in the absence of such a worst-case scenario, all indications are that there will be fewer and smaller missions, which will have to develop specialized capabilities, partner with local forces and authorities - and civil society- and integrate more effectively into peace processes.
Conflict mediation presents both challenges and opportunities in a multipolar world. Teresa Whitfield explores the history and current options for using "minilateral" mechanisms to support parties to a conflict in their pursuit of peace, ranging from Groups of Friends to Contact Groups, Troikas, Quads, and various other configurations.
Fundación Acordemos (Colombia) and the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) have explored innovative practices and lessons learned on monitoring and verification mechanisms, with the objective of contributing to the design of effective verification mechanisms in current and future ceasefire negotiations and peace agreements.
The fight against enforced disappearances is closely linked to peacebuilding. The paper Conversaciones con mujeres buscadoras. La lucha contra las desapariciones forzadas y la construcción de la paz ([Conversations with women seekers. The fight against enforced disappearances and the construction of peace] by ICIP and Baketik) explores these relationships and especially the contribution of women seekers.
The role of technology in humanitarian and peace protection issues is an emerging area of study. Oliver Kaplan and Emily Paddon Rhoads study its role in the self-protection of civilian populations and, more broadly, in enhancing local ownership of the processes.
Along these lines, the UN Development Program's latest Human Development Report analyzes the opportunities that artificial intelligence offers for advancing human development by expanding the human capacity to make choices and mobilizing the imagination toward new ways of organizing the economy and society.
The Organizing Committee of the VII Brazilian Meeting on Peace Studies (VII EBEP) and the Peace Studies Section of the International Studies Association (ISA-PSS) announced the call for proposals for the VII Joint EBEP/ISA-PSS 2025 Joint Conference, to be held at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Brazil, on December 3-5, 2025. The conference aims to provide a forum for reflection and debate on the general theme “The role of peace studies in times of fractures: reimagining peace from the Global South.” The conference will accept proposals for full panels, papers for panels, scientific initiation posters, mini courses/workshops, as well as proposals for book launches.
| | The climate crisis, extractivism, and violence are complexly intertwined in Mesoamerica. Environmental destruction and the climate crisis exacerbate insecurity and violence, especially for the poorest sectors, and contribute to increasing migration. Crisis climática, extractivismos y violencia. Una mirada sobre la complejidad de Mesoamérica analyzes the relationship between climate change and environmental destruction, on the one hand, and the dynamics of violence and insecurity, on the other, exploring their specific impacts on territories and responses. | | |
The Regional Institute on the Study and Practice of Strategic Nonviolent Action in the Americas has organized a webinar on nonviolent resistance for territory and against racism from Afro-descendant communities. In a new episode of their podcast, Relatos de la resistencia no violenta, they explain how mediation strengthens resistance and helps, in concrete situations, to transform pressure into solutions.
Mediation Without Borders International is organizing the Lima Peace Summit (October 1-3, 2025), Reconciling Growth and Governance. The event (in English and Spanish) will explore how countries and companies can balance the need for economic development with the imperative to manage natural resources responsibly and equitably. It will also examine the role of governance in ensuring that development initiatives respect environmental limits and promote social equity, as well as the implications for democratic institutions and processes.
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- The Latin America Working Group's April 2025 Migration News Brief contains numerous resources on U.S. deportations to El Salvador, Nayib Bukele's policies, and other migration-related issues. Please contact the coordinator, Tatiana Carlotti (t.carlotti@gmail.com ), to request a copy.
- Registration is now open for the advanced level of the civil resistance course “El poder de la gente: la dinámica estratégica de la resistencia no violenta" (People Power: The Strategic Dynamics of Nonviolent Resistance). The course runs from July 2 to July 29, online and asynchronously. More information on registration here. For doubts or questions, please write to accionnoviolentaamericas@gmail.com
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Newsletter of the Regional Center on Peace and Security
Edited by Mariano Aguirre and Mabel González Bustelo
Translated by Yenni Castro (Valestra Editorial)
More information: MariaAlejandra.Rico@fes.de
Calle 71 # 11 - 90, Bogota, Colombia
© 2025 FES
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