During a 1986 protest in Santiago, Chile against the human rights abuses of Augusto Pinochet’s regime, teenagers setting up barricades were arrested by a military patrol. What happened next to Rodrigo Rojas DeNegri (seen right) and Carmen Quintana is a matter of dispute, but in the end, Rojas was dead and Quintana severely burned. An… Read More "The Chile Burn Victims Case: Containment vs. Human Rights under Pinochet"
Trouble in Chiapas: The Zapatista Revolt
Economic development in Mexico has been uneven for generations, as some blamed the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for exacerbating the nation’s income disparity and leaving southern states like Chiapas behind. Dissatisfaction with the government’s economic policies and growing resentment regarding its indifference toward Chiapas eventually led to an all-out revolt in the state. On January 1st,… Read More "Trouble in Chiapas: The Zapatista Revolt"
The Immigration Game — Visas and the Mexican Border
Illegal immigration remains a hotly contested issue within the United States, as evidenced by the subject’s repeated appearance in American political discourse over the years. Formulating effective policy to reform America’s immigration system has been a major struggle for both parties in the United States, but the implementation of any policy has also created significant… Read More "The Immigration Game — Visas and the Mexican Border"
Winning the Peace – USAID and the Demobilization of the Nicaraguan Contras
In the 1980s, one of the focal points of U.S. foreign policy was the rise of leftist militants throughout the globe, particularly in Central America. Under the Reagan Doctrine, the U.S. in 1982 began actively supporting anti-Communist insurgents — the Contras — in Nicaragua in their fight against the Sandinistas. By 1985, public support for the… Read More "Winning the Peace – USAID and the Demobilization of the Nicaraguan Contras"
Billion-Dollar “Plan Colombia” to End Decades of Civil War
Published January 2016 A guerrilla organization known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia—Ejército del Pueblo, FARC–EP and FARC) has been at war with the Colombian government since 1964, marking it as the hemisphere’s longest-running armed conflict. The FARC has claimed to be a Marxist-Leninist army representing… Read More "Billion-Dollar “Plan Colombia” to End Decades of Civil War"
Leveling the Playing Field in the Salvadoran Civil War
The Salvadoran Civil War, lasting from 1979-1992, pitted the military-led government of El Salvador against a coalition of five left-wing guerrilla groups known collectively as the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). Combat was vicious and fought by both the government and guerrilla forces without regard for human rights. More than 75,000 Salvadorans lost their lives and an… Read More "Leveling the Playing Field in the Salvadoran Civil War"
At War with Colombian Drug Barons
The worldwide increase in demand for recreational drugs in the 1960s and 1970s prompted drug barons in Colombia to ramp up production, processing and export of coca and marijuana. As it became a key exporter of cocaine and marijuana to the U.S., Colombia suffered from drug-related violence among competing cartels that increased in later years.… Read More "At War with Colombian Drug Barons"
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 secret bank accounts to funnel money from arms deals with Iran, which was then under an arms embargo, to the Contra rebels fighting the Marxist Sandinistas in Nicaragua. One aim of this plan was to… Read More "Iran-Contra: Who Knew What When?"
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 Elliot Trudeau, one of the most influential and memorable Prime Ministers in Canada’s history. He served as Prime Minister from 1968 to 1979 and then again from 1980 to 1984. Throughout his time in power… Read More "Pierre Trudeau: One Long Curve, Full of Turning Points"
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, custody issues and the 2000 American presidential campaign, the case of Elian Gonzalez became highly publicized and politicized. The story began when the raft carrying Elian and his mother from Cuba to the U.S. sank… Read More "Little Boy Lost: The Case of Elian Gonzalez"