El Salvador | Council on Foreign Relations

Colombia

Colombia Isn’t Ready for a New Venezuelan Migration Wave, Plus Bukele’s Mano Dura Threats Won’t Fix the Economy

Petro leaves Colombia ill-equipped to handle a new Venezuelan migration wave; Bukele’s mano dura tactics got results on crime, but won’t fix the economy.

Post by Shannon K. O'Neil and Will Freeman August 7, 2024 Latin America’s Moment
Mexico

Mexico’s Electoral Campaigns Kick Off Plus Latin America’s Resilient Democracies

Mexico’s electoral campaigns officially begin with AMLO’s legacy at play plus Latin America’s democracies are challenged but resilient.

Post by Shannon K. O'Neil and Will Freeman February 27, 2024 Latin America Studies Program
Colombia

Complications in Colombia’s AG Selection, Plus Milei’s Electoral Reform Failure and El Salvador’s Opposition Collapses

Colombia’s process to select a new attorney general is not going smoothly; electoral reform an early failure in omnibus fiasco; and the collapse of El Salvador’s opposition is bad news for Bukele

Post by Shannon K. O'Neil and Will Freeman February 9, 2024 Latin America Studies Program

Maternal and Child Health

Women This Week: Study Reports Over 64,000 Pregnancies Related to Rape Post Roe v. Wade

Welcome to “Women Around the World: This Week,” a series that highlights noteworthy news related to women and U.S. foreign policy. This week’s post covers January 20 to January 26.

Post by Noël James February 1, 2024 Women Around the World
United States

What Is Temporary Protected Status?

Temporary protected status has long been used as a humanitarian solution for migrants who are unable to return home safely, but efforts to give them a path to citizenship have reignited the debate around the U.S. immigration policy.

Backgrounder by Diana Roy and Claire Klobucista September 21, 2023 Renewing America
Latin America

The President’s Inbox Recap: Latin America’s Crime Surge

Latin America is facing a post-pandemic crime wave.

Post by Michelle Kurilla August 3, 2023 The Water's Edge

Latin America

Latin America’s Crime Surge, With Will Freeman

Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin America studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss spiking crime rates across Latin America and their consequences for the region and the United States.

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Will Freeman August 1, 2023 The President’s Inbox
Latin America

Central America’s Turbulent Northern Triangle

The United States continues to seek strategies for responding to the growing number of migrants fleeing poverty, violence, and other challenges in the Central American region.

Backgrounder by Diana Roy and Amelia Cheatham July 13, 2023
Censorship and Freedom of Expression

Silencing the Messenger: Global Threats to Press Freedom

Freedom of the press is under attack around the globe, but for journalists in Latin America in particular, reporting has become a matter of life and death. Populist leaders in the region have consolidated power and clamped down on press freedom, making the area the deadliest in the world for reporters. With anti-journalist sentiment on the rise, can a free and fair press prevail in an increasingly polarized world?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra , Carin Zissis, Jan-Albert Hootsen and Neil Brandvold April 12, 2023 Why It Matters
El Salvador

Are Cryptocurrencies Still the Future of Money?

Since the creation of Bitcoin in 2009, cryptocurrencies have exploded in popularity and accrued over $1 trillion in collective value. But market volatility in 2022 threatened the crypto ecosystem—after peaking at over $68,000 in November 2021, the price of Bitcoin fell to under $17,000 twelve months later. This instability has brought new scrutiny to the industry and the countries that have embraced Bitcoin as currency: El Salvador and the Central African Republic. Financial regulators are now calling for more crypto oversight, but global efforts to regulate the industry have stalled. Given this simultaneous rise in global popularity and concern, what lies ahead for digital currency and the future of finance?

Explainer Video with Noah Berman, Anshu Siripurapu and Thamine Nayeem March 2, 2023
Technology and Innovation

What Does the Cryptocurrency Decline Mean for Bitcoin Countries?

El Salvador and the Central African Republic have made Bitcoin legal tender, but market volatility has undermined the experiment.

In Brief by Noah Berman December 21, 2022
Central America

Climate Change and Regional Instability in Central America

To stave off climate-induced instability in Central America, national governments and regional and international organizations all have a role to play to develop both immediate crisis response and long-term instability mitigation, argues Paul J. Angelo.

Report by Paul J. Angelo September 29, 2022 Center for Preventive Action
El Salvador

Why Has Gang Violence Spiked in El Salvador?

El Salvador’s homicide rate plummeted in recent years, but a spate of killings has drawn attention to President Nayib Bukele’s controversial approach to tackling gang violence.

In Brief by Diana Roy May 4, 2022
Central America

Why are People Fleeing the Northern Triangle?

Tens of thousands of migrants from a region known as the Northern Triangle are arriving at the U.S. southern border. Here’s why they’re making the arduous journey.

Explainer Video with Thamine Nayeem , Amelia Cheatham and Bethany Wright April 23, 2021
El Salvador

Why Central American Migrants Are Arriving at the U.S. Border

Thousands of people are arriving at the U.S. southern border after fleeing the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. President Biden is reviving efforts to tackle the problems that are prompting them to migrate.

In Brief by Paul J. Angelo March 22, 2021