ARTICLES
Trends in Latin America | Travel Security Special Edition 2025
Latin America’s travel security landscape remains dominated by kidnappings, extortion and associated violence driven by organised crime and wider insecurity.
Latin America’s travel security landscape remains dominated by kidnappings, extortion and associated violence driven by organised crime and wider insecurity.
Travellers in Europe remain more commonly affected by opportunistic petty crimes like pickpocketing and theft, rather than violent crimes like extortion and kidnapping.
The deployment of thousands of North Korean personnel to the Russia-Ukraine conflict marks a significant development in the nearly three-year war. Richard Gardiner examines how this involvement could impact not only the conflict itself, but also broader geopolitical dynamics in the region.
As the US approaches the November election, immigration and border security remain at the forefront of policy debates, and candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris must navigate growing public frustration about perceived migrant numbers. Erin Drake discusses the potential consequences of a tougher US approach to immigration on Latin America.
As the US presidential elections draw near, attention has focused on the divide in foreign policies between candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Richard Gardiner examines how their divergent approaches may manifest in a fractious yet geopolitically significant region like the Middle East – especially as the Israel-Palestine conflict intensifies.…
The outcome of the US election will have consequences for the Federal Reserve’s trajectory over the coming year. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's differing economic approaches could influence its interest rate decisions, which will impact not only the US but also emerging African economies, write Tamsin Hunt and Saif Islam.
Following the recent closure of a prominent bar and eatery in central Cape Town, Richard Gardiner discusses the current dynamics driving extortion in the city’s hospitality industry, the tactics used by the extortionists and why it is unlikely to change any time soon.
Organised crime in Southeast Asia has proliferated in recent years, branching into new revenue generating schemes that now affect millions of victims around the world. Tamsin Hunt examines some of the dynamics behind organised crime in the region.
Wealthy private schools have become increasingly opportune targets for extortion in Peru. The associated potential for violent retaliation against these vulnerable facilities for failure to meet criminals’ demands poses a growing security concern for learners and staff, writes Erin Drake.
A proliferation in narcotics trafficking over the past few years, alongside the diversification of trafficking routes, has prompted an increase in drug-related violence. While some countries try to replicate El Salvador’s iron fist measures to reduce violent crime, others are turning to alternative, softer methods. Yet, it is not clear that either of…
13 years into the construction of the contentious Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, nine months since a Memorandum of Understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland, and one month after a defence agreement between Somalia and Egypt, tensions in the Horn of Africa are on the rise. Osob Dahir examines these growing regional divides and their potential to…
Following the historic prisoner exchange between Russia and the US in August, Jameson Lisak examines how the exchange happened despite US-Russia relations being at an all-time low, and why foreign nationals remain at risk of politically motivated detentions in Russia.