The governments of the Western Hemipshere ask more and more of the armed forces on a regular basis. In some instances they are sent overseas for peackeeping and stabilization missions. In Latin America, the armed forces are increasingly called upon to provide support to the police in very complex environmenbts, and in some jurisdictions take over public security altogether. With the exception of the military police units the use of force paradigm utilized by military forces is designed to defeat an adversary under the legal framework of international humanitarian law (IHL) otherwise known as the law of armed conflict (LOAC). Many of these new mission sets described above take place outside of war and thus outside of IHL/LOAC. This reality presents a series of challenges for armed forces as related to both accountability and the management of general military operations and conduct.
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SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has had an infinite number of effects in the world with the intense use of cyberspace and the governance of activities on a global scale. Given that governance and governability have different connotations and that they are closely related. Both terms will be considered in security and defense, which are redefining the strategies due to the impact of the convergence of accelerated exponential technologies in the planning, management and decision-making of the sector with strong public-private participation.
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The English and Spanish language versions of this webinar were recorded on separate dates.
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The English and Spanish language versions of this webinar were recorded on separate dates.
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The illicit drug trade in the Americas has been evolving and expanding from plant-based narcotics like cocaine, heroin and marijuana to potent synthetic substances like fentanyl and methamphetamine. Since the 1980s, the U.S. war on drugs focused on countering cocaine trafficking that made the Colombian and Mexican cartels immensely wealthy and powerful. Over the past decade, US narcotic consumption has shifted significantly from cocaine to opioids and methamphetamine, resulting in an unprecedented opioid epidemic with 72,037 drug overdose deaths recorded in 2017 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, Mexican cartels are increasingly trafficking opioids and synthetics to respond to market changes in the US The atomization of large cartels and increased competition to dominate trafficking routes resulted in record levels of violence in Mexico with 29,111 homicides registered in 2018. The October 17, 2019 failed Mexican government operation to capture one of El Chapo Guzman's sons demonstrated how the Sinaloa cartel outgunned Mexican security forces and terrorized the city of Culiacan for hours. This paper will examine the evolving drug trade across the Americas from plant-based to synthetic drugs, the role of the Darknet as a force multiplier for the narcotics market, and US and Mexican national and international efforts to address the dynamic drug trade and associated violence.
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The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies hosted its second annual half-day forum on the security challenges in Latin America. This year?s forum aims to address the thematic question, "Are Institutions Ready to Respond?"
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The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies co-host a full-day forum on national and international efforts to address the opioid crisis and the role of transnational organized crime. Forum speakers will address policy and propose strategic initiatives to reduce transnational organized crime (TOC) from a national security threat to a manageable public safety problem in the United States and in strategic regions around the world.
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