39 Articles
👁 U.S. President Donald Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele look at each other and smile. They are standing in front of the "Shield of the Americas" logo. Four Latin American flags are in the background.
The Shield of the Americas Is the Trump Corollary’s Military Edge
The Shield of the Americas operationalizes the 2025 National Security Strategy, creating serious consequences for sovereignty, civil-military relations, and democratic governance.
Mar. 16, 2026
Orlando J. Pérez
👁 A woman is arm-in-arm with a younger woman, both crying, with others behind them heads bowed, as they leave a church in a procession, a white coffin behind them being carried on the shoulders of police officers in dark dress uniforms.
Guatemala’s New State of Emergency Isn’t Just About Gangs
President Arévalo's state of emergency provides him a short window to use the gang crackdown to also crack open the country's structures of impunity.
Feb. 5, 2026
Naomi Roht-Arriaza
👁 12/21/25 Editor's Note: The broadcast lineup for tonight's edition of 60 Minutes has been updated. Our report "Inside CECOT" will air in a future broadcast.
Fact Checking Bari Weiss: The Stated Reasons for Spiking 60 Minutes “Inside CECOT”
"If 60 Minutes had 'explained this' as Weiss described, the segment would have included false or highly misleading information."
Dec. 23, 2025
Ryan Goodman and Tom Joscelyn
👁 Collage of Zuma, Rajapaksa and Bukele (L to R)
Is the U.S. Becoming a Captured State? A Comparative Perspective
Patterns of state capture in South Africa, El Salvador, Sri Lanka and Guatemala offer a cautionary guide for the United States.
Nov. 18, 2025
Naomi Roht-Arriaza
👁 Peruvians light candles during a vigil for the victims of the anti-government protest after weeks of demonstrations over corruption and organized crime in Lima on October 26, 2025. On October 22, Peru's government deployed soldiers to the streets of Lima under a state of emergency declared following weeks of anti-government protests over corruption and organized crime. (Photo by ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP via Getty Images)
Impunity by Design: Latin America’s Quiet Crisis of Accountability
Across Latin America, political elites are quietly passing laws that narrow definitions, shield allies, and block legal pathways to investigate corruption and organized crime.
Nov. 10, 2025
Jeffrey A. Tobin
👁 Georgian opposition leaders address people during a protest
Distorted Laws on “Foreign Agents” Threaten Democracy: Mobilizing a Response
Civil society can share knowledge, boost public support, and build coalitions to resist the spread of autocratic "foreign agents" laws.
Oct. 23, 2025
Alesia Sedziaka
👁 Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks as U.S. President Donald Trump meets with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador in the Oval Office of the White House on April 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump and Bukele were expected to discuss a range of bilateral issues including the detention of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The Legal Fig Leaf: The US-El Salvador Detainee Diplomatic Notes
Declassified U.S.–El Salvador documents expose a shaky legal cover and continued U.S. control over detainees in CECOT, raising questions about complicity in potential abuses.
Jul. 17, 2025
Brian Finucane
👁 Photo credit from ICE.gov on X on June 10, 2025 with the social media post reading: "Photos from today’s ICE Los Angeles immigration enforcement operation."
Mass Deportation Policy and the Constitution: My Testimony Before the Senate Spotlight Forum
McCord's remarks for Senate panel address the administration’s mass deportation policy and constitutional rights of citizens and noncitizens.
Jun. 11, 2025
Mary B. McCord
👁 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) meets with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele at his residence at Lake Coatepeque in El Congo municipality, El Salvador, on February 3, 2025. (Photo by MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The Absence of “State Secrets” in US-El Salvador Agreement: On Removal and Imprisonment of Non-US Citizens
A "case cruncher" on the legal doctrine governing the state secrets privilege, and a Table containing senior government officials' public acknowledgments.
May 28, 2025
Ryan Goodman
👁 An American flag behind a judges bench in a courtroom
Judicial Deference and Presidential Power Under the Alien Enemies Act
Where judges have in the past and should in the future draw the line on judicial deference to the President in Alien Enemies Act cases.
May 20, 2025
Rebecca Ingber
👁 Image: A prison officer guards a cell at maximum security penitentiary CECOT (Center for the Compulsory Housing of Terrorism) on April 4, 2025 in Tecoluca, San Vicente, El Salvador. (Photo by Alex Peña/Getty Images)
Another Abrego Garcia, and the Administration’s “Contrivance” to Keep Him in El Salvador’s Prison
Fourth Circuit rejects the government's attempt to keep a detainee very similar to Abrego Garcia in CECOT prison.
May 19, 2025
Ryan Goodman
👁 U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), accompanied by Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) (L) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) (2nd-L)
In Congress, a Welcome, But Flawed, Step to Stop Trump’s Transfers to Torture
The El Salvador 502B resolution risks falsely drawing distinctions about the applicability of human rights based on immigration status.
May 8, 2025
Scott Roehm and Rebecca Ingber