The Financial Times is carrying an interesting piece on the tourism industry in Belize, where despite high levels of crime, they managed to bring in 420,000 visitors in 2017 – which is 60,000 more than the country’s entire population. With so much money flying around, is there any way for infrastructure to catch up? Excerpt …
Breaking the Vicious Cycle in the Northern Triangle
Matthew Rooney and Laura Collins of the George W. Bush Institute have a compelling new argument out in Foreign Policy about the the US really needs to do in order to have any hope of slowing the migration flows from Central America – work together on real solutions to deliver both security and job opportunities. …
El Salvador, Where Bourbon Grows on Trees
El Salvador’s coffee industry was recently crushed by a crop disease just a few years ago. Now, in order to catch up and compete globally, coffee farmers are turning to increasingly exotic bean varieties. Will the strategy pay off? In Reuters: The global dollar-denominated benchmark coffee price for commercial grades of arabica beans, known as …
Nicaragua’s Courageous Youth Revolution
Writing in The Atlantic, Tim Rogers examines the tumultuous events in Nicaragua, where a broad section of the population, led mainly by the youth population, is confronting Daniel Ortega’s government amid escalating levels of violence and repression. The asymmetrical fighting has claimed the lives of at least 120 people, including one U.S. citizen, and injured …
Why is Marco Rubio Against Anti-Corruption in Guatemala?
There’s been a lot of discussion lately about why U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and a number of other prominent lawmakers have become so vocally critical of the anti-corruption commission in Guatemala (CICIG). Yes, there is the unfortunate handling of the Bitkov family, which looks like a classic case of the Russian government persecuting an opponent. …