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:

Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note No. 5: Brazilian Military Stability and Support Operations

by Robert Bunker, by John P. Sullivan | Thu, 11/09/2017 - 1:35pm | 1 comment

The Shining Path of Peru: An Analysis of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency Tactics

by Sara Blake | Fri, 10/27/2017 - 1:24am | 0 comments

Criminals & Armed Drones

by SWJ Editors | Tue, 10/24/2017 - 7:00pm | 0 comments

Continue on for two news articles derived from SWJ/El Centro Mexican Cartel Tactical Note # 35.

2017 National Drug Assessment

by SWJ Editors | Tue, 10/24/2017 - 1:11am | 0 comments

The assessment contains sections on transnational criminal organizations as well as gangs. Continue on for a link to the full report.

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #35

by John P. Sullivan, by Robert Bunker | Mon, 10/23/2017 - 2:10am | 0 comments

Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 24: Cartel and Gang Provision of Post-Earthquake Humanitarian Aid

by John P. Sullivan, by Robert Bunker | Sat, 10/21/2017 - 8:17pm | 0 comments

Illicit Confluences: The Intersection of Cocaine and Illicit Timber in the Amazon

by Casey W. Wilander | Mon, 10/16/2017 - 10:20am | 0 comments

The Vertical Integration of Organised Crime Linked to Political Corruption

by Edgardo Buscaglia | Thu, 10/12/2017 - 5:33pm | 0 comments

Latin America’s Socialist-Islamist-Narco-Terrorist Alliance

by The Washington Times | Thu, 09/28/2017 - 10:16am | 0 comments

"Penetrating Latin America has been an Iranian and Hezbollah project for decades. They have been recruiting allies and agents."

Gangs in El Salvador: A New Type of Insurgency?

by Juan Ricardo Gómez Hecht | Wed, 09/27/2017 - 8:51am | 0 comments

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #34: Recent .50 Cal Sniper Rifle Seizures

by Robert Bunker, by Marisa Mendoza | Fri, 09/22/2017 - 10:21pm | 0 comments

Las Pandillas en El Salvador: ¿Un Nuevo Tipo de Insurgencia?

by Juan Ricardo Gómez Hecht | Mon, 09/04/2017 - 11:19am | 0 comments

Admiral Tidd: SOUTHCOM is Shifting From Tactical to Strategic Outlook in Illegal Trafficking Fight

by USNI News | Wed, 08/30/2017 - 7:37pm | 0 comments

“SOUTHCOM’s switch from tactical to strategic means a mission to ‘detect, illuminate, disrupt’ criminal activities.”

Maritime Interdiction in the War on Drugs in Colombia: Practices, Technologies and Technological Innovation

by Robert Bunker | Wed, 08/09/2017 - 3:24am | 0 comments

"Understanding drug smuggling and military organisations and enforcement agencies in ways that can inform public policies regarding illicit drug control."

The Mexican Cartel Conundrum: Policy Reform is More Effective Than Waging War

by Jacob Kim | Mon, 08/07/2017 - 8:22am | 1 comment

Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 23: Prison Riot and Massacre in Acapulco, Guerrero; Attack Allegedly During Santa Muerte Ritual

by John P. Sullivan, by Robert Bunker | Thu, 07/20/2017 - 8:40am | 0 comments

Transborder Crime, Corruption, and Sustaining Illegal Armed Groups in Latin America

by Luz E. Nagle | Sat, 07/08/2017 - 2:08am | 0 comments

11,155 Dead: Mexico’s Violent Drug War Is Roaring Back

by The Wall Street Journal | Wed, 07/05/2017 - 12:28pm | 0 comments

“After a few years of declining violence under Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, the drug war has come roaring back to life.”

Narco-Drones: A New Way to Transport Drugs

by Brenda Fiegel | Wed, 07/05/2017 - 1:34am | 0 comments

Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 22