Latin American governments have had to turn to their military forces to combat organized crime. The military, highly respected in most Latin American nations, has the discipline and the power of arms to counter these groups. However, the use of the military in police operations is a dangerous solution. Soldiers without adequate training or education could commit human rights violations and jeopardize the legitimacy of the military institution in the eyes of civil society. The US experience in Iraq demonstrates the risks of deploying armed forces that lack proper training. Used incorrectly, this force can be counterproductive and can jeopardize the most important strategic objective: the support of the population. Respect for human rights generates legitimacy that leads to collaboration and citizen support and intelligence opportunities for military forces.
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The Alumni Spotlights magazine is an annual publication which highlights the experiences and achievements of alumni of the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies and demonstrates the exceptional impact its alumni are making around the world. Individual spotlights are also featured on our web site and social media pages.
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The Inter-American Defense System can be analyzed as regional security governance, in which mechanisms and practices of different levels and scopes coexist and overlap in time, space and function. The objective of this article is to study how this overlapping has affected the provision of security in successive historical contexts and what is the current situation, based on a functional approach. To this end, the performance of mechanisms related to collective security (56 conflicts) and cooperative security (5 issues) will be examined, identifying the dynamics between the different levels. This analysis will lead to the conclusion that, since the creation of UNASUR, the overlapping of mechanisms has shifted from a cooperative interaction to a complex one, in which competitive tendencies are reinforced. Based on this, the design of a better articulated governance that reflects the leading role of the regions as providers of security within the hemispheric system is proposed.
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El Salvador has been impacted by political instability and socioeconomic upheavals in a perfect environment for organized crime; in the midst of the pacification and democratization of the country after a bloody internal conflict. This essay focuses on private security through a descriptive analysis of the factors that influence its evolution and implications in the country's governability and governance. The analysis of security as a common good, the factors influencing the use of private security and the inter-institutional relations of private security and the police require appropriate regulations based on the aforementioned factors. When considering security as a common good, fundamental rights are mandatory and the basis for the legitimacy of government action.
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Transnational organized crime (TOC) in Latin America represents a formidable threat to national security. These illicit groups have operated in the Western Hemisphere for decades. Recently, however, the speed and violence associated with these non-state groups have exacerbated the magnitude of the problems to alarming levels. Criminal groups are not limited only to trafficking narcotics. They also operate human trafficking networks, illegal arms trafficking, engage in extortion, cybercrime, and political intimidation. This undermines security, generates instability, and scares away foreign investment and tourism. This essay examines initiatives underway in the Western Hemisphere to address the convergence of transnational organized crime and other illicit networks. It also provides suggestions for implementing more effective strategies to deal with illegal groups whose evolution threatens the national security of the United States and its allies.
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