May 26, 2023

By Dr. R. Evan Ellis

Dr. Evan Ellis is a relatively small country but one of pivotal strategic importance in our hemisphere, especially given the role of the Panama canal and the related financial services industry. Dr. Evan Ellis had the opportunity to travel there recently to engage Panamanian officials and academics, to get a sense of what’s ahead as the country faces national elections next year, to gauge the country’s evolving relationship with China, and to assess the implications for the United States.

May 16, 2017

By Dr. R. Evan Ellis

Dr. R. Evan EllisINTRODUCTIONOutside of military, law enforcement, and some academic circles, security issues are rarely part of the discourse about the Caribbean. Yet, during the Cold War, the region’s contiguity with the United States made its largest island, Cuba, the focal point of the world’s closest publicly known approximation to nuclear

Dec 9, 2016

By Dr. R. Evan Ellis

Dr. R. Evan Ellis In the 2016 U.S. presidential debates, as on other occasions, the theme of Latin America and the Caribbean was remarkably absent. Important events in the region occasionally insert themselves into the U.S. consciousness through the mainstream media, including: the arrival of thousands of Central American child refugees at the U.S.

Aug 17, 2016

By Dr. R. Evan Ellis

Dr. R. Evan Ellis From July 11 to 15, 2015, I had the opportunity to participate in a seminar in Bogota, Colombia, on the topic of transnational organized crime that brought together security sector professionals from 10 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, co-sponsored by U.S. Army South and the Colombian military. The activity

Mar 31, 2016

By Dr. R. Evan Ellis

Dr. R. Evan EllisFrom February 15-23, 2016, I1 had the opportunity to travel to Mexico to conduct interviews with Mexican security experts about the evolution of transnational organized crime in the country and the work of Mexico's current government to combat it.My trip to Mexico coincided with the February 12-17 visit to Mexico by Pope Francis.

Jul 10, 2015

By Dr. R. Evan Ellis

Dr. R. Evan EllisThe U.S. response to the ever deepening political and economic crisis in Venezuela, and the regime’s increasingly aggressive behavior toward its neighbors and the international community, is compelling evidence that the Barack Obama administration is sincere in respecting the sovereignty of nations of Latin America and the

Apr 24, 2015

By Dr. R. Evan Ellis

Dr. R. Evan Ellis The views expressed here are his own. Dr. Ellis thanks his research assistants, Allen Church and Isaac Schlotterbeck, for their help with this article.In February 2015, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Latin America to meet with leaders and defense officials in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Although the visit

Jan 27, 2015

By Dr. R. Evan Ellis

Dr. R. Evan EllisNote: This article was first published in The ManzellaReport.com available from www.manzellareport.com/index.php/world/945-the-china-celac-summit-opening-a-new-phase-in-china-latin-america-u-s-relations.Since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) began to open its economy in 1978, its relationship with Latin America and the

Dec 8, 2014

By Dr. R. Evan Ellis

Dr. R. Evan Ellis From October 12-14, 2014, the city of Arequipa, Peru, was host to this year’s largest unnoticed meeting of senior government officials from across the Western Hemisphere: the 11th annual Defense Ministerial Summit of the Americas. The meeting brought together Ministers of Defense and their equivalents from 34 nations from the