More than 30 participants from 10 Latin American countries attended a new academic course at the Perry Center on how to handle complex security threats. Defense Policy and Complex Threats (DPCT), directed by Dr. Luis Bitencourt and Professor Guillermo Pacheco, is part of a series of Perry Center courses designed to improve the institutional efficiencies of security ministries in the Americas in the face of the convergence of threats such as organized crime and terrorism.

On the first day, the participants were welcomed by Perry Center Director Mark Wilkins and Ambassador Wanda L. Nesbitt, Vice President of the National Defense University. Participants also had a chance to hear from representatives of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, US Southern Command, other partner nations, and representatives from National Defense University.

The course provided participants with the methodological tools and techniques for the development of effective policies to a complex context and rapid changes in the threats. Over the course of the ten days, participants examined methodologies such as SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats), SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely), the Delphi Method, and the CAPA methodology, among others.