Latin american security.pptx real

1. Latin American Security Listen carefully, at the end of our presentation we will be choosing three reporters at random to tell the group what they have learnt

2. Types of security issues in Latin America • Military security – military rule Democracy not fully functioning No evident progress in gaining political control over the armed forces • Weak state insecurity dilemma- Quasi States • Human Security UN Vision exceeds capabilities of many Latin American states • New Threats New threats of drug trafficking, Trans-national crime, and terrorism

3. The weak State insecurity dilemma Incomplete or ‘Quasi states’

4. Military In the 1970s and 1980s many countries ruled by military dictatorship -Military still plays an important role in the region: in 2010 regionally Latin America increased its (http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/featu military spending the most res/2011/04/201141310585535362.htm), in the World. Diamint, R. 2004. Security Challenges in Latin America. -The US involvement Koonings, K. Political Armies, Security . Forces and Democratic Consolidation in Latin America. 2003

5. Human and Societal Security • Criminal Violence • Poverty • The drug wars • Struggling democracy • The US influence • Human Rights • Education and health rights

6. New security threats • ‘Non-traditional’ threats: drug trafficking and terrorism • New security agenda creating an overlap between defence and domestic security • Military intervention needed, but affecting civilians. (Plan Columbia) • Military and militarised police weaken democracy • Transnational crime linked through mafias- growing concern on international level

7. Case Study Triple Frontier Zone: Ciudad del Este as a Paradise for Crimes and Criminals • Intersection of terrorism and organized crime • Inefficient and ineffective governmental controls and the weak institutions- key factors that facilitate the settlement of criminal entrepreneurs " The anus of the earth is cut into the jungle on the Paraguay side of the Parana River– a home-away-from-home for the South American drug cartels, Chinese Triads, Japanese Yakuza, Italian gangsters, Russian gangsters, Nigerian gangsters and Hezbollah terrorists- and is called Ciudad del Este . . . . A city of 200, 000 hustlers, whores, hoodlums, revolutionaries, thugs, drug traffickers, drug addicts, murderers, racketeers, pirates, mobsters, extortionists, smugglers, hit men, pimps and wannabes" (Robinson, 1999: 1).

8. Copenhagen school Latin America security cycle Military involvement Drug Trafficking & organised Crime Military security Societal insecurity Militarisation Poverty Political Human Insecurity insecurity

9. Thanks for listening Any questions ? • Ok…now to the reporters • http://classtools.net/education-games- php/fruit_machine/ • http://classtools.net/education-games- php/timer

Editor's Notes

Today we will be examining the security issues in Latin America from The Copenhagen School of thoughtand touch on regime security. Please listen carefully as we will be choosing three reporters at random to tell the group what they have learnt about Latin American security issues. Enjoy So, As Mervyn Bain pointed out apart from the 100 hour football war in 1969 between El Salvador & Honduras there have been no interstate wars in Latin America therefore they are peaceful states in this way. However, the developing states of Latin America are weak states , the primary threats to security originate from internal rather than external sources. They are far from peaceful within the states, various security issues remain and new ones have developed in recent years . As the cold war ended and the fear of communism has subsided for the US it has been replaced by a new war the war on drugs.
Our presentation will be concentrating on discussing a range of security factors which affect Latin American states these are:Military , Human and New threats. We will also discuss the factor of the quasi state insecurity dilemmaMilitary rule has been a predominant element of security for the states of Latin America . And although since 1979 19 Latin American countries have moved from military regimes to civilian rule, there is still an absence of democratic civil control over the military . Latin America has yet to establish a democratic process of decision making in the security realm. Human Although the states of Latin America are in the United Nations in The Latin American and Caribbean Group the vision and demands of the UN declarations of Human rights exceed the capabilities of many Latin America States. New threats New threats of drug trafficking, organised crime, terrorism have come to the fore.
The weak states of Latin America face a set of security challenges which originate primarily from internal sources. They are classed as quasi states because they lack the most fundamental of state attributes, namely effective institutions, a monopoly on the instruments of violence and consensus on the idea of the state. As a result they face numerous challenges to their authority from powerful domestic actors such as Guerrilla factions and drug cartels and although steps have been taken towards democracy in these states the heads of government are predominantly military leaders and politics remains in a cycle of continual threat of violent intervention by armed forces in the form of coup d’ etat, mutiny, rebellion or revolt, even in states with well developed coercive power civilian governments struggle to maintain loyalty of the armed forces. The monopoly on the instruments of violence is out of reach for Latin American states.
Despite being relatively free from inter-state wars, the military have played an important role in Latin America. In 1970s and 1980s many countries including(Uruguay, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, Brazil, and Argentina)Were ruled by military dictators .When those states were faced by transition to democracy position of military was problematic. Since many of the juntas had been involved in human rights abuses, carried out by specific counterinsurgency groups, accountable by civilian governments, big portion of that money went for rising the wages of the military personnel. Moreover in some Latin American countries military are highly involved in running the state. For example, Ecuadorian armed forces participate in business activities and Chávez's rule of Venezuela is highly dependent on the military groups and for example in Mexico the Ministry of defence is run by the army.US involvement in the area further reinforces the role of the military in the region. since issues such as drugs trade and terrorism are security threats to the US as well. For example, it has been estimated that radical Islamic groups from Middle East receive 300 to 500 million dollars from Latin American criminal networks that are involved in drugs trafficking. This has lead to even stronger militarisation of the region since US strategy to combat transnational crime has had a very strong focus on the armed forces of the states. This of course weakens the already weak civilian governments in the region.
Half a million people are killed every year by light weapons, frequently during criminal violence and almost all in developing countries. Latin American states are no different. This together with the Human security issues of chronic poverty, lack of employment opportunities , inadequate health, declining education standards and environmental ruin are the norm in many Latin American states. We will highlight, the drugs trade, gun crime, and illegal migration are all spill over effects of persistent insecurity in Latin America.As Liisi has discussed The strong presence of the military in Latin American states is a an internal political security issue. Latin American states are in a constant struggle to consolidate democracy. Human security is connected to democratic civil control over the military and is closely linked to democracy and political stability.The forcing of hand by America to deal with the drug trafficking issues using hard-line military measures somewhat re-establishes military rule and supremacy and thereby jeopardises democratic ideals. The drug wars have caused violence to be a daily occurrence for many people in Latin America with shoot outs, beheadings and kidnappings to mention just a few. Whilst the states are busy spending money to combat these Societal and human security threats they are forgetting that Human security involves far more than the absence of violent conflict and are seemingly neglecting or simply unable to meet the demands of the declaration of Human rights, including good governance and safe and reliable access to education and healthcare.As mentioned all countries of Latin America are in the UN and have therefore signed up to the United Nations Declaration of human rights including Article 2 which states Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.However, the current state of affairs in Latin American means that these vision exceed the capabilities of the states. Poverty is rife in Latin America with 44% of people living under the poverty line. Many recognise the potential offered to them by participating in organised crime and drug trafficking. This has lead to new security issues such as increased social conflict, migration and people being drawn easily into illegal activities . The fight against drug trafficking and terrorism, can produce the opposite effects to democratic ideals. Krete will discuss this issue in more detail
Latin America, where there are no more intra-state wars, faces nevertheless important challenges which affects the security of individuals as well as of States. These so-called ‘non-traditional’ threats are to a certain extent old ones in Latin America with negative record in human security issues and in transnational organized crime. the necessity of dealing with ‘non-traditional’ issues, mainly drug trafficking and terrorism, especially after 9/11, has became more and more of a priority. AS previously mentioned by Liisi and Sharri there is confusion in Latin-America on how to deal with these new security threats as the military intervention what US is promoting might not be the best solution in the region because of the fragile and still developing democracy. And the risk is that in order to fight against drug trafficking the local armed forces need authority and therefore they need power to make decisions that an affect the ordinary civilians. One example would be the so called Plan Columbia where one single method of combat has been defined such that farmers, carriers, and the population at large, who do not use weapons, are confronted by military power. Therefore the complex conflict is simplified into an armed confrontation which is overlapping defence and security functions and not providing better solutions to the public’s lack of security. Similar process can be seen in the fight against terrorism- instead it should be prevented by an internal security force supported by the judiciary. However in recent years the dimensions of drug trafficking have grown with more possibilities of challenging state power and creating conflicts beyond state boarders.Transnational criminality in its various forms like drug trafficking, small arms trafficking, money laundering or counterfeiting have existed for a long time in Latin America and the Caribbean. In Latin America, the conditions have always been ideal in that respect: extended and permeable national borders; a huge territorial space under populated and consequently difficult to control; and very often, corrupt local institutions, mainly police, army and justice. The incentives have also been important: the huge North American or European markets for drugs; the Brazilian or Argentinean markets for smuggling or counterfeiting; and some Latin American guerrilla movements or even in non-Latin American countries (like South Africa during Apartheid) for arms sales, especially small arms. But the new element is that all these activities are in fact closely interconnected through mafias which are becoming more and more international.
Many examples can be given to illustrate these trends. Let us take just one, most preoccupying on he agenda: the “Three Frontiers Zone” at the border of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina where the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este and the Brazilian city of Foz de Iguaçu are located. This zone has become in the last 30 years one of the most active areas in the world for transnational crime. The particular geography of the border region makes it very difficult to monitor, facilitating and promoting organized crime and the illicit activities connected with it. Ciudad del Este – and also to a certain extent Foz de Iguaçu - became progressively an outlaw zone, hardly controlled by the Paraguayan police where other kinds of traffic like drugs, money laundering, counterfeiting, arms trade, etc.developed in a dramatic way. Trade and international illegal transactions- outside the state’s control- are the main resources in the zone. According to DTTF report “The daily average currency movement reaches to US$12 million: which has made it the third largest commercial city in the world. The area is also famous for the "nexus" between criminal and terrorist organizations. The terrorists use organized crime activity as a means of economic support. The fact is that depending upon the circumstances, terrorists can hide themselves in international crime organizations. Both groups operate primarily in areas where there is a lack of effective governmental controls, weak law enforcement, and open frontiers. Both need corrupt officials to succeed in their goals- therefore the zone is perfect for both groups. The inefficient and ineffective governmental controls and the weak institutions are the key factors that facilitate the settlement of criminal entrepreneurs in the Triple Frontier. Low wages and an unstable economy, in turn, tempt officials to become corrupt. The Tri-Border Area increased its profile as a "danger zone" in the decade of 1990s, after Argentina suffered two terrorist attacks in 1992 and 1994. This zone was linked with the presence of Lebanese terrorists in the region, and was known for supporting international Islamic terrorism. But it was only after the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon on September 11,2001 that the international community began to focus its attention on this area. In 2002, and again in 2006, the US Treasury Department mentioned in a memo that there are "clear examples" of Islamic groups in the region that "finance terrorist activities". Al Qaeda was believed to draw some of their funding from activities in the Triple Frontier. The Paraguayan side of the Triple Frontier could be serving as a haven for terrorist operations as that nation has no anti-terrorism laws. Thus, financially contributing to terrorist organizations is not punishable by law.Laundering money is the "means" through which organized crime, transnationalterrorists, and corrupted public functionaries can succeed in their illegal activities.Paraguay is considered a main center of money laundering, and the National Anti-Drug Secretariat of Paraguay (SENAD) suspects that the narcotics traffickinggenerates approximately 40% of the laundered funds. It is very difficult to combat money laundering in that area because of the high rateof corruption, particularly in Paraguay. Organized crime activities are not a new phenomena, but what is new is how illegitimate businesses are now crossing national boundaries and creating transnational networks. The onset of globalization has facilitated the growth of transnational crimes, and criminals are taking advantage of the opening of the world and the integration of the marketplace with the freedom of movement for goods, people, services and capital. Therefore, the weaknesses in Latin American security and their inability to deal with new threats are affecting citizens all over the world.
So as we have highlighted, The poverty and lack of provision to provide basic human rights as defined in the UN declaration create Human security issues. People seek to escape the poverty by either migrating or by being drawn into Drug trafficking and organised crime causing societal security issues as people no longer feel safe in their own states. This causes the state recognises this as a threat and act against the criminal acts using military power which in turn leads to militarisation and the further undermining of the democratic political process which hinders the states to provide for it’s people effectively. The Latin American states are trapped in a continual cycle of insecurity and on for the most part the status of quasi states.
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Latin american security.pptx real

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