Lateinamerika

Tensions between the US and Colombia: Petro’s Rejection of Trump’s Deportation Policy
 

ABI's staff member Viviana García Pinzón was interviewed by Security in Context on Trump's foreign policy in Latin America: 
 

In the first weeks of Trump's time in office, the focus of his foreign policy in Latin America revolves around the topics of migration and trade. This focus has caused several tensions. Trump's aggressive approach to immigration, including massive ICE raids and deportations, has been criticized in countries with left-leaning governments such as Colombia: 

While deportations from the US to Colombia are not new, the conditons under which they take place have worsened under the Trump administration. In January 2025, Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused landing to US military planes carrying deported migrants, protesting their poor treatment. The US then imposed sanctions, including tariffs and visa restrictions. Petro responded by implementing a 25% tariff on US imports. This has led to a heightened debate and criticism from Colombians, which is in line with a series of crises and dissatisfaction with Petro's government.

Viviana García Pinzón assesses the significance of Petro's actions not only for Colombians but for Latin America and the Global South. She weighs up the necessity of Latin American countries to assert their own autonomy against their ability to push back against US pressure, which is often limited due to e.g. economic dependencies. She suggests that Trump's approach to foreign policy in Colombia is historically in line with US interventionism, but represents a shift towards authoritarianism that disregards democratic development and human rights.

The whole interview is available on the website of Security in Context as well as on YouTube.

Puerto Chancay: Economic mega-success that comes with a high price?
 

In this article, ABI's staff member Fabricio Rodríguez and Jhan Carlos Ayquipa Mallqui examine the local challenges posed by the chinese-funded economic project: 
 

The Chancay mega-port, part of China's "Belt and Road Initiative" and one of the country's largest infrastructure projects with an investment of 3.6 billion US dollars, is being celebrated as a pioneering project that will boost the trade between Asia and South America. But underneath the surface of this ‘progress’ lies a different reality. The affected population in Chancay sees the project critically: instead of the promised jobs and development, it poses social and environmental challenges. In conversations with local representatives, it becomes clear how the project is causing social conflicts, damaging the marine ecology, undermining the fishing industry and increasing the power imbalance between China and Peru.

The full article can be read on the website of Informationsstelle Peru e.V. (DE).

On April 26, 2024, the Junge Akademie of the Archdiocese of Freiburg, together with the Postcolonial Hierarchies in Peace and Conflict Studies network, organized days of workshop on the topic of struggles over water in Latin America. At the study day, scientists and activists from Chile, Colombia and Germany discussed our relationship to water as an energy source, as habitat or as entity with its own rights.

Guest Speaker Ximena Gonzales was interviewed by the regional radio station Radio Dreyeckland. The human rights lawyer and expert on the right to water and the right to energy spoke about the activist struggles for water in Colombia. The interview in German can be listened to on the Radio Dreyeckland's website.

Raíces Nómades, a Spanish-language program of Radio Dreyeckland, published a program about the workshops. This can be listened to on the Raíces Nómades website.

Over the past few months, the headlines about criminal violence in Latin America have been dominated by an unusual suspect, Ecuador. This nation has long been considered a haven of stability and peace in the middle of the world’s most violent region. However, it saw unparalleled increases in violence in recent years, becoming the country with the highest level of lethal violence in Latin America. The takeover of a local television station by members of a criminal group in January 2024 gave further visibility to Ecuador’s deep security crisis.

In a blog entry, Viviana García Pinzón und José Salguero examine the factors behind Ecuador’s security crisis, highlighting the negative impact of a series of justice and security reforms implemented between 2017 and 2022. They argue that the level of violence affecting the country is not exclusively caused by changes in illicit markets and organized crime but, crucially, by a weakened and fragmented state apparatus. Moreover, the seemingly unlimited political gains from a prolonged suspension of constitutional rights might make unending ‘regimes of exception’ an alluring prospect for a new wave of Latin American autocratic rulers.

The blog entry can be read on the website Urban Violence.

On February 4th, El Salvador held its general elections, marking a historic occasion as the first since the era of military dictatorships in the 20th century to transpire amidst a declared state of emergency. The incumbent Salvadoran President and unconstitutional presidential candidate, Nayib Bukele, declared himself the victor, claiming an 85% share of the total votes and at least 58 out of the 60 available General Assembly seats for his party, Nuevas Ideas. His "Iron Fist" policy on gang violence and its impressive results are the main source of Bukele’s popularity. In turn, this popularity has stifled any opposition to the growing dominance of the executive power over the legislative and judicial branches. 

In a blog entry, Viviana García Pinzón and José Salguero argue that at the core of Bukele’s concentration of power lies a security strategy of coercive pacification and the instrumentalization of fear. They rivisit pivotal developments of autocratization and examine the role of security policy and the state of exception. 

The blog entry can be read on the website Urban Violence.

In Ecuador, it seems inappropriate to speak of a security crisis when considering that the challenges facing the Latin American region have repeatedly emerged in the past. The erosion of democratic culture has not occurred abruptly. The increase in military presence in public security and the allure of warlords are also not new. In an article on Razon Publica, Viviana García Pinzón explains the situation.

You can find the entire article here (Spanish).