While extortion and kidnapping have long been features of Mexico’s criminal landscape, recent incidents, including the kidnapping of 10 workers from a Canadian-owned mining site, highlight the persistent threat to Mexico’s business environment, writes Shannon Lorimer.
Hijackings continue to pose significant risks for businesses and private citizens as global economic pressures drive demand for cheaper goods on black markets. Neil Mugabe examines notable trends in hijackings in 2025, and key hotspots where such events are likely to occur.
2025 was a year filled with travel disruptions as a result of a shifting geopolitical landscape, regional conflict, and in some cases, domestic political dynamics. Tamsin Hunt examines some of the security trends that will continue to affect global travel over the coming year.
Amid heightened geopolitical tension and rivalry, the ways in which countries compete to secure influence and strategic goals have shifted in recent years. Richard Gardiner explores how conflict dynamics are likely to unfold in 2026, and the implications these may have for commercial operators in key hotspots.
In 2025, extortion and associated violence have continued to skyrocket in Peru, targeting a wide range of sectors, including those previously thought to be immune. Shannon Lorimer looks at the conditions enabling and fuelling extortion, as the practice and its implications continue to disrupt commercial operations and threaten political stability.
In August and September, tensions between the US and Venezuela ramped up over the latter’s alleged role in transnational organised crime. Tamsin Hunt examines the wider security and geopolitical implications of counternarcotic militarisation, and broader pressure from the US on regional governments to stem the practice.
A spike in violence by militant groups in recent months reflects a deteriorating security landscape in Colombia. This increase, alongside weakened security forces, and a breakdown in peace negotiations with armed groups, has heightened concerns ahead of the elections in March 2026, writes Shannon Lorimer.
In mid-2025, informal miners in Peru blockaded highways in multiple parts of the country in response to the government’s decision to remove thousands from a registry which allowed them to operate legally. With tens of thousands of miners affected, and the government facing growing pressure from lawmakers to curb illegal mining, Shannon Lorimer argues…
After being re-elected to serve his first full term as Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa faces significant challenges to improve the country’s dire security situation. His approach will define the country’s security trajectory for the coming years, writes Shannon Lorimer.
Mexico’s judicial reforms have the potential to politicise judges and undermine the rule of law, weakening the country’s already fragile judicial institutions. These moves hand the ruling party more influence, and threaten further demonstrations, decreased investor confidence and political instability, writes Shannon Lorimer.
In tackling the country’s persistently high levels of violent crime, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has intensified security operations led by the military. This marks a publicised departure from the ‘hugs not bullets’ approach of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), although its success is not guaranteed, writes Shannon Lorimer.…
The collapse of a longstanding truce in January between factions of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia dissident group and the Ejército de Liberación Nacional prompted a surge in violence in Catatumbo Region. The fighting has exposed certain shortcomings in President Gustavo Petro’s approach to conflict resolution and will likely prompt…