El Centro

SWJ El Centro, or "downtown" in Spanish, is our town square for analysis and discussion of Latin America's guerilla wars and criminal insurgencies. More about El Centro here.

Recent El Centro Journal Articles and SWJ Blog Posts:

Film Review: Cartel Land – Competitive Control, Vigilante Justice and Autodefensas

by John P. Sullivan, by Khirin A. Bunker, by Robert Bunker | Thu, 10/01/2015 - 2:45am | 6 comments

How Mexican Heroin Cartels are Targeting Small-town America

by The Washington Post | Fri, 09/25/2015 - 2:24am | 0 comments

"A sophisticated farm-to-arm supply chain is fueling America’s surging heroin appetite, causing heroin to surpass cocaine and meth to become the nation’s No. 1 drug threat."

Analysis Shows Links Between Food Security, Violence and Migration in North Triangle of Central America

by Dave Dilegge | Wed, 09/16/2015 - 11:08am | 2 comments

Millions of Central Americans live outside their countries, with 80 percent living in the US, according to research into the connections between food insecurity, violence, and migration.

The Mérida Initiative at 7 Years: Little Institutional Improvement Amidst Increased Militarization

by Michael Hoopes | Wed, 09/16/2015 - 8:35am | 0 comments

Citizen Security as an Informal Institution: A Mexican Case Study

by Michael Hoopes | Thu, 09/10/2015 - 12:20am | 0 comments

Operation Jalisco: The Rise of The Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Peña Nieto’s Militarised Security Strategy

by Hannah Croft | Tue, 09/08/2015 - 4:15pm | 0 comments

Colombian President Santos: Success in an “Inter-mestic” Environment

by Jonathan Bissell | Wed, 09/02/2015 - 8:28am | 2 comments

The Specter of Ungoverned Spaces & How Advances in Network Analysis Can Assist Policymakers

by Jeffrey Julum, by Daniel Evans | Sun, 08/30/2015 - 12:59pm | 4 comments

Mexican Energy Reform: A Security Nightmare for Multi-Nationals Operating in Mexico

by Gary J. Hale | Tue, 08/18/2015 - 3:14am | 0 comments

Updated El Centro Line Up

by John P. Sullivan, by Robert Bunker, by Dave Dilegge | Tue, 08/11/2015 - 4:20pm | 0 comments

Small Wars Journal and Small Wars Journal-El Centro are pleased to announce an updated line up for the Small Wars Journal-El Centro Fellows for 2015.

Old and New Governmental-Criminal Relationships In Mexico: A Historical Analysis of the Illicit Political Economy and Effects On State Sovereignty

by Khirin A. Bunker | Mon, 08/10/2015 - 11:37am | 0 comments

Book Review of Organized Crime in Mexico: Assessing the Threat to North American Economies

by Roger J. Chin | Sun, 08/09/2015 - 4:01pm | 0 comments

Confronting the Narcoterrorism Nexus

by SWJ Editors | Thu, 08/06/2015 - 7:57am | 3 comments

"U.S. officials worry that a confluence of powerful drug-trafficking cartels, terrorist groups and an insecure southern border poses a strategic threat."

Book Review: Narco-Cults: Understanding the Use of Afro-Caribbean and Mexican Religious Cultures in the Drug Wars

by Robert Bunker | Mon, 08/03/2015 - 1:41pm | 0 comments

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #25: Ambush Kills 15; Injures 5 Police in Jalisco

by John P. Sullivan, by Robert Bunker | Thu, 07/16/2015 - 11:44pm | 1 comment

Book Review: Bumerán Chávez: Los fraudes que llevaron al colapso de Venezuela

| Wed, 07/15/2015 - 5:41pm | 1 comment

What Can a Country Do When its Most-wanted Man Escapes From a Maximum Security Prison - for the Second Time?

by Malcolm Beith | Mon, 07/13/2015 - 2:49pm | 0 comments

Mexico Kingpin 'Chapo' Guzman Stages Brazen Jailbreak in Blow to President

by SWJ Editors | Sun, 07/12/2015 - 1:57pm | 0 comments

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman broke out of a high security prison on Saturday night for the second time.

Venezuela, Military Generals, and the Cartel of the Suns