In our May 11 Facebook Live discussion, Senior Investigator Héctor Silva Ávalos and Senior Editor Mike LaSusa spoke about InSight Crime's coverage of shifting US policies toward Latin America, and how these changes could impact organized crime and security in the region.
The conversation opened with LaSusa laying out the bottom line of InSight Crime's recent reporting on proposed changes in US foreign aid to Latin America, including the potentially negative effects of proposal by the administration of President Donald Trump to slash economic assistance to the region. Silva then explained how cuts to development aid in the most recent congressional budget could specifically impact security in Central America.
The two also discussed how plans to hire thousands more immigration and border patrol agencts could increase corruption in those agencies, while paradoxically making human smuggling even more profitable for crime groups. They also discussed how Trump's promise to build a wall along the US southern border will likely do little to stem undocumented migration and drug trafficking.
Silva and LaSusa also discussed some continuities between Trump's administration and that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. In addition to bringing several key Obama-era officials into his administration, Trump also appears poised to continue his predecessor's policy of putting pressure on Mexico to clamp down on undocumented migration and drug trafficking in its territory.
Silva and LaSusa wrapped up the conversation by talking about the many yet-unanswered questions about Trump and the US Congress, including their stance on the Colombian government's peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) and the level of cooperation and support other countries in the region will provide to the United States under the controversial new administration.
Watch the Facebook Live broadcast for the full conversation:
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