Wilson Center Senior Associate, Eric L. Olson, on the current security situation in Central America.

Woodrow Wilson Center’s Latin America Program and Mexico Institute, 1/27/12

Eric Olson

Central America has become the most violent region in the world and many countries are facing enormous challenges of crime and public insecurity due to urban violence, street gangs, and organized crime engaged in international drug trafficking.

Latin America Program and Mexico Institute Senior Associate, Eric L. Olson, spent last week in three Central American countries and provides his analysis of the security situation there, including the role of the private sector, pervasive corruption in law enforcement, and the risks and benefits of vetted units.

I have just returned from a quick trip to Central America (El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Honduras) where I was attending a conference and held meeting with various government officials and independent experts on the issues of crime and violence in Central America.  Here are a few initial impressions from this trip.

Engaging the private sector in the public security debate:  The main reason for my trip was to participate in a roundtable discussion in Costa Rica with private sector representatives, government officials, and researchers on the issue of public security in the “Southern Triangle” of Central America – Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.  This is part of a several step process that will include roundtables in the “Northern Triangle” and Washington, DC.

Read the Eric Olson’s complete Central America report here.

¿Qué opinan? Firmas del día: 1/27/12

The Mexico Institute, AL DÍA: News and Analysis from the Mexico Institute, 1/27/12

Each morning, through the Mexico Portal feature, “¿Qué opinan? Firmas del día”, we will bring you an assortment of op-ed pieces from five major Mexican dailies: Reforma, El Universal, La Jornada, Excelsior and Milenio. Enjoy!

Cada día, por la entrada titulada, “¿Qué opinan? Firmas del día”, vamos a traerles un surtido de artículos de opinión de cinco periódicos populares de México: Reforma, El Universal, La Jornada, Excelsior y Milenio. ¡Que lo disfruten!

At least 150 detained at bar in Nuevo León [In Spanish]

After the assassination of eight men and one woman in the city of Monterrey, elements of the State Investigation Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigaciones) undertook an operation at bar La Eternidad and detained more than 150 people. Each of the nine bodies that were found yesterday had a stamp of the bar’s logo on their wrists.

Reforma, 1/27/2012

Tras el asesinato en Monterrey de ocho hombres y una mujer que se presume estuvieron en el Bar La Eternidad, elementos de la Agencia Estatal de Investigaciones realizaron anoche un operativo en el centro nocturno, en el que fueron detenidas más de 150 personas.

Desde las 23:40 horas del jueves, agentes ministeriales cerraron el cruce de Reforma y Amado Nervo, donde se apostaron elementos con armas de alto poder, mientras otros efectivos revisaron a los clientes, empleados y músicos que se encontraban en el lugar.

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Mexico says swine flu cases up this year, institutes screening program for schools

The Washington Post, 1/26/12

Three years after swine flu closed Mexico City and caused an international scare, the Mexican government and local media are at odds over the severity of this season’s flu virus. Newspapers are warning of an alarming increase in cases while the government insists there is no cause for alarm.

Federal and state health officials agree there is an increase, but they say the number of cases is within the range of a normal flu season. The Mexican health ministry, however, has listed confusing numbers on its website and it hasn’t specified the rise in cases despite repeated requests from The Associated Press.

The federal education ministry said Wednesday that it was instituting screening measures in all elementary schools for the H1N1 flu strain, commonly called swine flu when the first outbreak was discovered in Mexico in March 2009.

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Security contractors see opportunities, and limits, in Mexico

The Washington Post, 1/26/12

With the Iraq war over and the American presence waning in Afghanistan, U.S. security contractors are looking for new prospects in Mexico, where spreading criminal violencehas created a growing demand for battle-ready professionals.

After years of lucrative work in the Middle East and Central Asia, where their presence has been occasionally marred by incidents of excessive force and misconduct, contractors and private security firms of varying sizes and specialties are being drawn into a conflict closer to home. But Mexico’s restrictive gun laws mean that foreign contractors must enter the bloody drug war unarmed as they take jobs ranging from consulting and technical training for the Mexican military to guarding business executives from kidnapping gangs and extortionists.

Virginia-based DynCorp International has job openings in Mexico for aviation instructors and mechanics. The New York consulting firm Kroll hires anti-kidnapping specialists to protect Mexican business executives.

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Mexico Violence: 9 Killed In Monterrey

The Huffington Post, 1/26/12

Nine people were shot to death early Thursday in the center of Monterrey, the third-largest city in Mexico and the scene of rampant drug violence in recent years.

The bodies of eight men between ages 25 and 30 were found on a street corner after neighbors reported hearing gunfire, said Adrian de la Garza, the Nuevo Leon state attorney general. The body of a woman was found nearby. De la Garza said the crimes appeared to be linked by the type of weapon used, but provided no more details.

He didn’t say if the killings were drug related. This northern industrial city has been plagued by fighting between the Gulf and Zetas cartels, former allies that split in early 2010.

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Mexico Today – Speaker Presentations Now Available

Where does Mexico stand in today’s global stage? What is the current profile of its electorate, with many young Mexicans voting for the first time in the upcoming 2012 elections? Has Mexico been able to meet social demands (e.g. social security)? What does it mean to belong to the middle-class in Mexico?

These and many other themes were discussed at the event Mexico Today hosted by the Mexico Institute on January 13, 2012. Featured speakers from Mexico exposed their ideas and have made their presentations available to the public:

Alejandro Hope: “Getting Better All The Time – The Beginning of the End of Mexico’s Security Crisis?“

Ernesto Canales: “Strengthening Rule of Law and Addressing Violence in Mexico”

Macario Schettino: “Clasemediero”

We are overcoming the challenge of crime. – Felipe Calderón Hinojosa [In Spanish]

As part of his intervention at the World Economic Forum, President Calderón participated in the panel “Stand Alone, Global Economic Crisis: Role and Challenges of the G-20” with president of Microsoft, Bill Gates. After making an assessment of his current administration, Calderón stated that although his most important challenge has been the fight to bring back security, the Mexican state is overcoming it and hence will be able to bring victory to future generations of Mexicans.

Reforma, 1/26/12

En el marco del Foro Económico Mundial de Davos, el Presidente Felipe Calderón hizo un balance de su gestión y reconoció que el desafío más importante que ha enfrentado ha sido el combate a la inseguridad.

Al participar en la sesión pública “Stand Alone, Global Economic Crisis: Role and Challenges of the G-20″, junto con el presidente de Microsoft, Bill Gates, Calderón aseguró, sin embargo, que el Estado mexicano está superándolo y que las futuras generaciones verán la victoria.

“El desafío más importante, por supuesto, es la seguridad. Es un desafío enorme (pero) estamos superando el desafío. Yo sé que es el tema más difícil al que nos hemos enfrentado, pero creo que aún en ese sector estamos cambiando la situación. Nosotros ahora estamos plantando una nueva semilla”, dijo.

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Strengthening Rule of Law and Addressing Violence in Mexico

Ernesto Canales, RENACE

It is not an exaggeration to say that a national movement to transform the Mexican legal system is being carried out in our country. It is loud and clear in the criminal legal system, and from there, it has sprawled to other areas.

In Monterrey, almost twenty years ago, a group of friends decided to act against the cruelest atrocity our criminal system had created: the treatment of the Poor; those people unjustly subjected to the Mexican criminal process with no means to defend themselves. There was no possible way out for these individuals or their families. We set up Renace, a nonprofit organization, to defend such cases.  It wasn’t difficult to find cases that were so emblematic they could call public attention. Cases such as:

a) A 74 year old man, with a leg prosthesis, sentenced for homicide, supposedly for participating in a gang fight of young men he had not known before; the judge never met or saw him, nor considered his physical condition, the age difference and the lack of any prior contacts with the perpetrators

b) A young mother in jail with a sentence for seven years accused of stealing diapers for her baby; lost her freedom and her son

c) An eighteen year old man sentenced to twelve years in prison for stealing two kilos of beef barbecue in a night of many drinks

The list could go on. After reviewing and documenting more than twenty thousand cases it became obvious to us, and to the academicians supporting our work, that most of the injustices were caused by the applicable laws and regulations as they were geared to render unrestrictive powers to the State and therefore to the authorities in charge.

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Jeb Bush, op-ed: Four ways Republicans can win Hispanics back

The Washington Post, 1/25/12

In the 15 states that are likely to decide who controls the White House and the Senate in 2013, Hispanic voters will represent the margin of victory. For the Republican Party, the stakes could not be greater. Just eight years after the party’s successful effort to woo Hispanic voters in 2004, this community — the fastest-growing group in the United States, according to census data — has drifted away.

Although Democrats hold the edge, Republicans have an opportunity. We also have a record of winning Hispanic voters in certain statewide and national elections. Here are four suggestions on how Republican candidates can regain momentum with the most powerful swing voters.

First, we need to recognize this is not a monochromatic community but, rather, a deeply diverse one. Hispanics in this country include Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and many others. Some came here 50 years ago to make a better life; others came last year. Some have lots of education, some have none. The traditional Republican emphasis on the importance of the individual has never been more relevant.

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