Reports

Ecuador at Risk: Drugs, Thugs, Guerrillas and the Citizens Revolution
by Douglas Farah, Glenn R. Simpson

Published on January 24th, 2010
New Spanish language translation available.  The changing internal situation in Colombia and the expanding influence of the Mexican drug cartels have, over the past three years, helped turn Ecuador into an important and growing center of operation for transnational organized criminal gangs. This poses a significant threat not only to the Ecuadoran state but all of Latin America and the United States.

Money Laundering and Bulk Cash Smuggling: Challenges for the U.S.-Mexico Border
by Douglas Farah

Published on June 19th, 2009
Bulk cash smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border cannot be viewed in isolation. Rather, the process of illegally moving large quantities of dollars across the border must be viewed as part of the movements in a larger pipeline that flows across the northern tier of South America, through Central America and Mexico and into the United States. The pipeline, fed by many smaller feeder lines, moves products both north and south, and the a significant portion of the violence in Mexico today, as well as among the maras in Central America, revolves around disputes over control of portions of that pipeline, its plazas and branches. The primary goods flowing northward are cocaine, human traffic, gang members hired by the drug cartels as enforcers, and marijuana. The primary products moving south are large amounts of cash generated from the illicit activities, stolen cars and other goods, and weapons. It is important to understand that all of these products move through the same basic architecture and rely on many of the same facilitators to enable the flow of goods and services.

Bolivia on the Brink
by Douglas Farah

Published on June 17th, 2009
When Evo Morales won an overwhelming victory in Bolivia's December 2005 presidential elections, it signaled a historic new chapter in the nation's political history. For the first time in decades a presidential candidate won an outright electoral majority, garnering almost 54 percent of the vote. Morales, an indigenous peasant who remains the head of the cocalero (coca growers) union, inherited a country that had lived through three years of permanent crisis and the resulting deep disillusionment with the traditional political parties. Those promises of inclusive governance have been breached almost from the beginning of the MAS government, leading Bolivia to its worst political crisis since the hard-fought return to democratic rule in 1982.

Iran in Latin America: An Overview
in Iran in Latin America: Threat or Axis of Annoyance?
by Douglas Farah

Published on June 1st, 2009
There is considerable debate over the level of threat posed by Iran's expanding diplomatic, trade and military presence in Latin America, and its stated ambition to continue to broaden these ties. These new alliances are causing deep concern not only in the United States, but also in Europe and parts of Latin America. Others view the relations as an unthreatening and natural outgrowth of a rapidly changing, multi-polar world. There are points of agreement and divergence among different camps, as well as larger issues that must be addressed in order to come as close as possible to obtaining a full picture what Iran's interests and intentions imply.

“To Our Great Detriment”
Ignoring What Extremists Say About Jihad
by Stephen C. Coughlin, Esq.

Published on July 2nd, 2007
In comments made at the National Defense University on 1 December 2005, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace explained to his audience the importance of “understand[ing] the nature of the enemy” if we hope to defeat jihadi extremists.  Comparing our situation today, with that faced by an earlier generation who had to deal with the reality of the Nazi threat, General Pace suggested a simple solution to complying with his injunction:  “read what our enemies have said.  Remember Hitler….  He said in writing exactly what his plan was that we collectively ignored to our great detriment (emphasis added).”  Just as we ignored Hitler’s articulation of his strategic doctrine in Mein Kampf, so too are we on the verge of suffering a similar fate today, if we fail to seriously assess the extremist threat based on jihadi strategic doctrine.

Arthur Waldron's Dissent to CFR China Report
by Arthur Waldron, Ph.D

Published on June 21st, 2007
Council on Foreign Relations member and Vice President of IASC, Arthur Waldron, was a member of the Council Task Force the report of which, "An Affirmative Agenda, A Positive Course" was recently released. Task force members had the option of signing the report without reservation, signing with reservation, or--if they found themselves in complete disagreement--not being listed as taking such a position, but rather not being listed at all, even though they had participated. Professor Waldron chose to sign with substantial reservations. Owing to Council on Foreign Relations rules, however, he did not have the opportunity to present these in detail in the report as published, though he--and others having reservations--were permitted to publish brief dissents or additions, as he did.

Taxing Terrorism from Al Capone to Al Qaida
Fighting Violence Through Financial Regulation
by Jeffrey Breinholt

Published on August 1st, 2005
This book by the Deputy Chief of the Justice Department's Counterterrorism Section aims to give readers an understanding of a largely overlooked aspect of U.S. federal criminal law enforcement. It is also designed to foster an appreciation for an under-rated skill: telling a story with documents. These issues are vitally important to national security, and to the current challenge of keeping innocent people safe from political violence. In the war on terror, we cannot ignore financial investigative techniques and the value of documentary storytelling.