The worldwide increase in demand for recreational drugs in the 1960s and 1970s prompted drug barons in Colombia to ramp…
Iran-Contra: Who Knew What When?
In the Iran-Contra Affair, Colonel Oliver North and others within the National Security Council and CIA used back channels and…
Pierre Trudeau: One Long Curve, Full of Turning Points
With the October 2015 election of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada, we take a look back at his father, Pierre…
Mari-Luci Jaramillo: Shoemaker’s Daughter to Madame Ambassador
Mari-Luci Jaramillo, U.S. Ambassador to Honduras from 1977-1980, rose from poverty in New Mexico to a life of diplomacy and…
Little Boy Lost: The Case of Elian Gonzalez
In early 2000, the custody case surrounding Cuban child Elian Gonzalez dominated the American news cycle. Combining U.S.-Cuba immigration policies,…
Monkey Business
Embassies around the world focus on some very important issues – bilateral trade negotiations, helping American citizens abroad, reporting on…
Turning Out the Lights at U.S. Embassy Havana, 1961
The United States and Cuba officially severed diplomatic relations on January 3, 1961, the culmination of months of increasingly hostile bilateral…
Which Witch?
When stationed abroad, Foreign Service Officers may face dangers such as carjackings, bombings, or even assassination attempts. However, for some,…
Haiti, The Bearer of Scars
Haiti is a land of great beauty and of great suffering. The Haitian proverb, bay kou bliye, pote mak sonje…
A Quiet Coup in the Caribbean: The Takeover of T&T
On July 27, 1990, a Muslim organization called Jamaat al Muslimeen instigated a coup against the government of Trinidad &…