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.…
Ahead of her inauguration in October 2024, Claudia Sheinbaum has echoed outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s security policies. But widespread organised crime, entrenched corruption, and an ineffective reliance on the military to combat cartels pose challenges to realising sustainable security improvements, writes Shannon Lorimer.
On 18 April, a police crackdown on student protests at Columbia University in New York kickstarted a wave of demonstrations on campuses across the world calling on universities to sever their ties with Israel amid the Israel-Palestine conflict. The demonstrations have drawn comparisons to protest campaigns in the previous century, which may offer some…
Organised criminal groups seeking political influence have long driven an increase in political violence during Mexico’s elections. With violent incidents already surpassing those recorded in the 2018 general election and with a month still remaining before the polls, 2024 is likely to be the most violent election year yet, writes Shannon Lorimer.
While organised crime is often thought to occur on the fringes of society, a combination of shifting trafficking routes, migration, and socio-economic challenges are increasingly facilitating gang rivalries that have driven brazen, often indiscriminate violence in tourist hubs and major urban centres, writes Erin Drake.
Profiling school attackers is complex and wrought with challenges, but mapping the conditions under which attacks happen can shed some light on what prompts them, and how to prevent them, writes Markus Korhonen.
El Salvador’s crackdown on gangs has driven criminals to seek more permissible operating environments elsewhere in the region, and could strengthen extortion networks across Central America and Mexico over the coming year, write Erin Drake and Grace McEleny.
With the recent attack on four US nationals in Tamaulipas attracting significant attention from the US government, media and public, concern over Mexico’s travel security environment is mounting. Erin Drake considers the current threat landscape, and argues that some of the regional drivers are likely to sustain – and in some cases escalate – the danger…
With the continued increase in global vaccination levels, travel bans are easing as countries restart their tourism sectors. Erin Drake writes that while travel dynamics may look a little different in 2022, the usual security threats remain.
The killing of environmental defenders in developing countries is not only a growing human rights crisis but also bad for business, writes Saif Islam.
Amid a reported increase in maritime piracy in the Gulf of Mexico, Erin Drake considers the drivers of such attacks, and whether the economic impact of Covid-19 has contributed to the expansion of maritime crime in the area.