Liberated Haiti: thirty years after Duvalier

Thirty years after the Jean-Claude Duvalier fled Haiti, the Caribbean island country has been plagued by political upheaval, autocracy, and corruption. Now, though, after yet another electoral debacle, the international community has a rare opportunity to support the Haitian people, rather than an imperfect, temporary way out of a crisis.

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U.S. Leverage in Latin America

One of the legacies President Barack Obama will leave to his successor is increased foreign policy leverage in Latin America. Nowhere is this more evident than in U.S. policy toward Cuba and Venezuela—and because of those two countries with the rest of the hemisphere.

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So you want to visit Cuba ‘before it’s ruined’?

The reason why some want to “visit Cuba before it’s ruined,” is because they expect that the “charm” of crumbling facades, cheap rum and cigars, old American cars and low prices won’t survive a transition toward a more open economic system. Some fear that as Cuba attracts foreign investment and continues reforming its economy, development and economic growth will fundamentally change what makes Cuba alluring.

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El Chapo and the evolution of the Mexico-U.S. relationship

Forget about Sean Penn. The capture of El Chapo demonstrates the competence of the Mexican armed forces and the progress made in years of collaboration between the U.S. and Mexico. But at the same time cartels have also started to collaborate and consolidate, raising new challenges for both partners.

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Nisman: One year later

It’s been one year since Alberto Nisman was found dead on the very morning he was due to testify before the Argentina Congress about his investigation into the AMIA bombing. Nothing much has changed since, just more questions.

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Carta del Secretario General de la OEA al Presidente de Venezuela

La democracia tiene un solo camino: el compromiso con los derechos garantizados a todos los ciudadanos del país. Su esencia es proteger los derechos y las decisiones del pueblo respecto a un gobierno que podría abusar de su poder, ignorando o rechazando los resultados de la elección. Esto es de extrema seriedad porque constituiría la violación de principios fundamentales.

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Venezuela’s Supermajority Reconsidered

Any numerical representation of people has institutional and moral consequences. This is especially so in Venezuela where Chavistas consistently had a monopoly on being the majority and used it to discount opposition as los escualidos (the few, rotten elites), a characterization that is now less credible with the recent elections.

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Going Down the Rabbit Hole of the UNHRC’s Universal Review Process

Even in Latin America, a region often thought to share the same democratic orientation and values of the U.S. and Europe, there are some striking differences among groups of countries regarding supporting norms and practices on human rights internationally, with some countries lining up more with autocratic countries of the Global South.

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