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Ecuador’s Incoming Government Faces Difficult Choices Regarding China
Ecuador’s Incoming Government Faces Difficult Choices Regarding China | R. Evan Ellis Background image of Viviana Veloz, then the first vice president of the National Assembly of Ecuador, receives Chinese Ambassador to Ecuador Chen Gouyou, and Wang Yulin, director general for Latin America and the Caribbean of the International Department of the Central Committee of the CCP, September 2024, via the Diplomat (https://thediplomat.com/2025/05/ecuadors-incoming-government-faces-difficult-choices-regarding-china/)
May 8, 2025 - With Daniel Noboa returning to the presidency and a new Chinese ambassador on the way, China-Ecuador relations are at an inflection point.From April 22-25, I had the opportunity to travel to Quito, Ecuador, to address an...
China’s Coming Diplomatic Blitz in the Americas
China’s Coming Diplomatic Blitz in the Americas | R. Evan Ellis Background image of the earth from Deposit photos via the Diplomat (https://thediplomat.com/2025/05/chinas-coming-diplomatic-blitz-in-the-americas/)
May 8, 2025 - The next few months will bring a series of high-profile multilateral engagements between China and Latin American countries, as Beijing seeks to capitalize on discontent with Trump.In the coming three months, China will have...
Transnational Organized Crime in Mexico and the Government’s Response
Transnational Organized Crime in Mexico and the Government’s Response | R. Evan Ellis Background image of fentanyl pills from Mexico seized by US Custom and Border Protection officers at the Port of Mariposa in Nogales, Arizona, November 2023 from DVIDS (https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8123153/fentanyl-seizure-port-nogales). Overlaid with a digital map of Mexico from Freepik (https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/mexico-map-vector_333986.htm), edited for color.
April 29, 2025 - The US government threats of tariffs on the Mexican government if it did not do more to control illicit fentanyl flows into the United States have cast new attention on the growing problem of transnational organized crime...
Russia's the Enemy
Russia's the enemy | Dr. John R. Deni Background image: firefighters hose down a fire in rubble after a Russian missile hit a large printing house in Kharkiv, Ukraine, May 2024, by AP Photo/Andrii Marienko, from the Pittsburg Post-Gazette article (https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/insight/2025/03/02/deni-ukraine-russia-us-enemy-dominance-international-relations/stories/202502230055)
April 21, 2025 - The United States has never been directly involved in the war in Ukraine. U.S. troops weren’t sent there to fight for Ukraine against the Russian invaders, and both sides of our political spectrum seemed intent on keeping it...
Russia, Ukraine, and Collective Defence
Russia, Ukraine, and Collective Defence | Dr. John R. Deni & Anca Agachi Background image of the NATO and Ukraine flags from Wikimedia (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ukraine_%E2%80%93_NATO_Commission_chaired_by_Petro_Poroshenko_(2017-07-10)_48.jpg)
April 21, 2025 - The ability to adapt to a constantly evolving security environment has been critical to the success of NATO, yet this is being tested anew as the Alliance faces a second term of Donald Trump in the White House and re-embraces...
Does NATO Still Matter?
Does NATO still matter? | Dr. John R. Deni The alliance has created economic growth, peace and stability. Image from article: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2025/03/31/does-nato-still-matter/
April 21, 2025 - The alliance has created economic growth, peace and stability. America’s relationship with Europe is undergoing a potentially profound reexamination. Whether and how the transatlantic bond — especially America’s commitment to...
Don’t waste this crisis, Europe: consolidate your defense industry
Don’t waste this crisis, Europe: consolidate your defense industry | Dr. John R. Deni
April 15, 2025 - Turn your excess national defense champions into continental ones.Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and questions about the American commitment to NATO have cast a spotlight on European efforts to safeguard security on the...
A Drawdown of US Forces in Europe Is All but Certain
A Drawdown of U.S. Forces in Europe Is All but Certain Here’s how the Pentagon can rebalance its approach to the continent without sacrificing U.S. interests.
April 15, 2025 - Here’s how the Pentagon can rebalance its approach to the continent without sacrificing US interests.The Trump administration has only just begun to fill its ranks with the political appointees who will flesh out the future...
The Impact of China on US Interests in Latin America
The Impact of China on US Interests in Latin America | R. Evan Ellis President Trump’s statements regarding the influence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the Panama Canal, and the focus on the issue as part of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s February 2025 trip to Central America and the Caribbean ... Image of worldmap from Freepik (https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/infographic-with-colored-world-map_796291.htm)
Feb. 21, 2025 - President Trump’s statements regarding the influence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the Panama Canal, and the focus on the issue as part of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s February 2025 trip to Central America...
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