The Inter-American Dialogue’s work in Central America and the Caribbean examines opportunities and challenges facing the 28 countries and islands in the region. Issues include security, migration, drug policy, remittances, education, integration, and trade.
The Inter-American Dialogue has been working jointly with Haiti’s Université Quisqueya to develop an independent, non-partisan initiative called Think Tank Haiti (TTH). In the last few recent months, the crisis in Haiti has reached new lows. Gangs have more power than ever, the prime minister has torpedoed his own dialogue with civil society, shortages in food, fuel, and even water are widespread, and cholera has reappeared after more than a three-year absence. The international community has renewed its interest in Haiti and is expected to decide soon if a new peacekeeping mission will be sent by the UN. These interconnected challenges, on top of repeated natural disasters, have neither quick nor clear solutions. The mission of TTH is to reinforce and build upon Haiti’s capacity to analyze, understand, and respond to the multiple, devastating challenges confronting the nation today.
In May 2023, the Prosperity and Progress in Intermediate Cities project, implemented by the Inter-American Dialogue with the support of the Cities Alliance and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), began operations with the goal of providing economic and educational opportunities to vulnerable populations at risk of migration in the department of San Marcos.
It’s difficult to talk about public safety in Latin America today without talking about El Salvador and its president, Nayib Bukele. In a region where concerns about crime are running high, and organized crime groups are expanding their reach in many places, El Salvador stands out.
On September 26, 2024, the Inter-American Dialogue released the report “The Authoritarian Wave in the XXI Century: Toward A Democratic Reset.” The report, produced by Manuel Orozco, director of the Working Group on Politics and Mediation in Nicaragua focuses on the global rise of authoritarian regimes and their impact on democracy, security, and migration.
Much of what China is doing in Nicaragua is part of a broader strategy that we see throughout the region. Some of these projects seem very aligned with China’s economic objectives, which are to find markets, even in smaller countries like Nicaragua.
The number of people who have left [the Northern Triangle] has been so large that it has actually diminished the size of the labor force in those countries.
