Written by Joseph Cain | March 14 2024 Prime Minister Alberto Otarola’s Peru’s political turmoil continues into 2024, with Prime Minister Alberto Otarola’s March 5th announcement of his resignation after audio leaked that implicated him in influencing government contracts for a former love interest. Otarola claims that the recordings were from 2021 when he was... Continue Reading →
Written by Joseph Cain | March 4, 2024 ELN forces training The National Liberation Army of Colombia (Ejército de Liberación Nacional or ELN) is Latin America’s last-and-longest-standing insurgency. It has been engaged in intermittent peace talks with the Colombian government for decades. However, the Gustavo Petro administration has made peace with the group a cornerstone... Continue Reading →
Written by Joseph Cain | February 18, 2024 President Daniel Noboa Ecuador is facing unprecedented times. In early January, President Noboa stated that Ecuador was in an internal armed conflict with 22 armed groups and gangs. The government has designated these 22 groups as terrorist organizations allowing for military operations against them. However, after years... Continue Reading →
Argentina was one of six countries to be chosen to join BRICS earlier this year, but with the election of Javier Milei as the new president-elect, this will no longer be the case.
Colombian President Petro is working to boost public spending and increase economic growth, particularly in the face of his quickly declining approval ratings. Petro needs to prove that his policies can benefit the people or he's unlikely to win re-election in 2026.
On November 1st, President of Brazil Lula da Silva announced that 3,600 military personnel will be deployed to increase security in the country’s most important airports—Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo—and ports—Port of Rio de Janeiro and Santos Port in Sao Paulo.
On October 26th, Maria Machado overwhelmingly won the opposition-organized presidential primary in Venezuela, with 93% of the vote. Roughly two and half million Venezuelans made it out to vote in hopes of having a presidential candidate to challenge Nicolas Maduro and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) in the 2024 presidential elections.
Colombia and Israel have suspended all sales and supplies of both defense and military hardware. This could severely impact the maintenance and production of key military equipment in Colombia, as they utilize a lot of Israeli equipment and technology across its military force.
With Paraguay taking over the presidency of the Mercosur trade block, the Paraguayan president has said that trade negotiations will stop with the EU if a deal is not reached soon. It looks as though Mercosur will turn to Asia should relations with the EU remain unresolved.
On September 12th, Guyana allowed bids from several international oil companies, including Exxon and TotalEnergies, for the right to explore 14 offshore oil blocks. Negotiations with the bidders will take place next month. However, neighboring Venezuela has voiced its displeasure with the Guyanese auction, arguing that Guyana does not have sovereign rights over the area and therefore cannot grant rights to third parties for oil exploration.
The Patterson Journal of International Affairs 