Mark Feierstein News Today

A conversation with the Trump administration’s former ambassador to the OAS

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, celebrated a landslide electoral victory on Feb. 4, far outstripping his nearest competitor. “The opposition was pulverized,” Bukele told jubilant crowds outside the National Palace on election night. In reply to critics who warn that El Salvador is moving toward authoritarianism, he proclaimed, “we are not substituting democracy because El Salvador has never had democracy.” The leader who once called himself the “world’s coolest dictator” n...

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s backsliding on his promise of free and fair elections is likely to prompt the return of some US sanctions, though the Biden administration will probably refrain from imposing the stiffest penalties related to oil, according to analysts.Most Read from BloombergSingapore’s $200,000 Toyotas Fuel Angst Over Wealth GapTraders Line Up for ‘Once-in-a-Generation’ Emerging Markets BetThree US Troops Killed in Attack Tied to ...

Maduro has jailed aides to the opposition presidential candidate.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s backsliding on his promise of free and fair elections is likely to prompt the return of some U.S. sanctions, though the Biden administration will probably refrain from imposing the stiffest penalties related to oil, according to analysts.

As Ecuadorians wage war against almost two dozen gangs that are brazenly turning their once peaceful country into one of the region’s most violent, experts warn that the South American nation’s drug-financed criminal organizations pose one of the gravest security threats Latin America in years.

By intensifying Venezuela’s claim to resource-rich territory in neighboring Guyana, the Maduro regime is “trying to link this international dispute with his own domestic politics” in order to “whip up nationalist sentiment” ahead of 2024 Venezuelan elections, says USIP’s Mark Feierstein.

Opponents to a dictator organize a primary to elect a presidential candidate, with help from the United States in easing sanctions.

While the deal may mark a breakthrough in Venezuela’s political stalemate, there are also plenty of reasons to be skeptical.

The tentative cease-fire suggests that all sides are trying to avoid a bloody end game resulting in the ethnic cleansing of Armenians.