Keys to Reducing Violence in Mexico
Some regions of Mexico now seem like war zones. Nineteen out of the 50 most violent cities in the world are expected to be found in the country by the end of 2011. Yet severe violence is…
Category: Mexico and Central America
Mexico’s Challenges
When Felipe Calderón took oath as Mexico’s president, he identified security policy—particularly a struggle against criminal organizations—as the flagship policy of his administration. Like…
The Zetas’ Bad Omen
In organized crime, the Zetas are like cancer. Once bad cells take a hold of an area, their metastatic nature soon spreads them in all directions. The Zetas defy smaller countries like…
The Transformation of Street Gangs in Central America
I met Franky approximately ten years ago, when he came to my office at the University of Central America in San Salvador. Franky (his name has been changed here to protect his identity) was a…
Fighting for Security in Mexico
The last time I collaborated with ReVista I wrote the introduction of an edition dedicated to Latin America’s Year of Elections (Spring/Summer 2006). In those days, the most important academic…
Daily Life on the Border
CIUDAD JUAREZ. From here, America looks very much like the innocent bystander, dressed in a nice Teflon suit. Nothing seems to rattle it…
