Latin American Affairs Program

CNA’s Latin American Affairs program applies CNA’s rigorous and diverse methodological skills, its policy and operational experience, and its commitment to in-depth, on-the-ground data collection and analysis to issues regarding Latin American security and inter-American security relations.

The Latin American Affairs team includes analysts with years of experience conducting field research on issues of security, political affairs, environmental policy, and development in Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Argentina, and across Central America. The program’s analysts are fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. In their research and analysis, the core team collaborates with other CNA analytical groups and experts who have special knowledge of policing and criminal investigation operations and techniques, leadership and group network analyses, advanced security technologies, advanced statistical analyses, and military and security policy. The Latin American Affairs team also collaborates regularly with a network of security and political experts in countries across the region.

The Latin American Affairs program conducts projects in support of a range of public agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Homeland Defense Department (including Customs and Border Protection), foreign governments (especially security and defense ministries), and independent foundations. Recent projects have covered the following themes:

• Criminal organizations, trafficking, and border and coastal communities in Central America
• Regional security implications of new trends and developments, including the Panama Canal expansion; Chinese, Iranian, and Russian activities in the region; Brazil’s rise as a regional and global power; and Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution
• Motivations of Colombians for joining, staying in, and leaving insurgent groups
• Decision-making, leadership dynamics, and personal networks of the Hugo Chávez government
• Political, institutional, and strategic elements of U.S. security relationships with Latin American partners
• Impacts of climate change on the national and regional security of Latin American and Caribbean countries
• Brazil’s growing political, economic, and military influence, and the modernization of Brazil’s armed forces, especially its navy
• Challenges to and effectiveness of U.S. security engagement and capacity building activities in Central America

Ralph Espach, Ph.D. Director
William Rosenau, Ph.D.
Lesley Warner

A selection of recent analyses by the CNA Latin American Affairs Program

• ReVista, Harvard Review of Latin America — “The Fight Against Drug Trafficking and Crime in the Americas,” by Dr. Ralph Espach
• The Atlantic.com — “Should Central America Legalize Drugs?” by Dr. Ralph Espach
• CSIS podcast "Americas Audio" — Dr. Ralph Espach discusses his report Criminal Organizations and Illicit Trafficking in Guatemala’s Border Communities
  
  

• Criminal Organizations and Illicit Trafficking in Guatemala’s Border Communities
  Organizaciones Criminales y Trafico Ilicito en las Comunidades Fronterizas de Guatemala
  
• Impactos de Cambio Climático en la Seguridad Nacional y Regional de Colombia
  
• Impacts of Climate Change on Colombia's National and Regional Security
  
• Brazil’s Rising Influence and Its Implications for Other Latin American Nations
  
• Planificación y Políticas de Seguridad Frente a los Desafíos del Cambio Climático Resumen de Conferencia
  
• Conference Report: Security Policies and Planning to Address the Challenges of Climate Change