Below, please find the latest articles to have appeared in print and electronic media about CSIS and its experts. For your reference, there is also a link to archived media coverage of CSIS.
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Financial Times, "Uribe Ascendant."
If Hugo Chávez has his way it will be all smiles, back-slapping and bear hugs when he meets his pro-US Colombian counterpart, �lvaro Uribe, for talks, as expected, later this month. Following the spectacular rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other high-profile hostages last week from the hands of the Farc, Colombia's leftwing guerrilla movement, the Venezuelan lead-er said his country too was celebrating. "I called Uribe last night and congratulated him. We are even happier because not one drop of blood was spilled." [...] The desertion of Nelly Avila Moreno, aka "Karina", a renowned Farc commander, is a case in point. She surrendered in March, saying she had not been in touch with the Farc high command for more than two years, and urged others to follow suit. "I think she . . . was almost starved to death by the Colombian military's ability to narrow her range of operations," says Peter DeShazo, director of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.Read the article
July 4
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the New York Times, "Bold Colombia Rescue Built on Rebel Group's Disarray."
At 5 a.m. on Wednesday, the sun had yet to peek through the jungle canopy in this country’s Guaviare Department when the guerrillas told their captives to gather their belongings. A call had come in from a top adviser to Alfonso Cano, their new supreme commander. He said to move. Immediately. Or so the guerrillas thought. In fact, the gravelly voice that sounded so full of authority belonged not to a grizzled leader of Latin America’s most feared insurgent group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, but rather to a government officer. [...] “It’s reaching the point where most of the leaders of the FARC are going to say, ‘We’re not going to win, we don’t have a chance,’ ” said Peter DeShazo, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “And when they reach that point, then political negotiation becomes more possible.” Read the article
Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a senior associate with the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by Reuters, "Macabre Messages are New Tool of Mexico Drug Lords."
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, June 25 (Reuters) - Breaking with years of secrecy, Mexico's drug gangs are battling it out in public with audacious hit-lists and threats on banners strung up on streets as drug murders soar out of control.In Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo, near Texas, the east-coast Gulf cartel has hung banners that openly advertise for army troops to desert and join it, promising fat wages."These are perfect examples of how brazen the cartels are," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It shows just how huge Calderon's task is to transcend this culture of impunity," he added.Read more
June 20
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Associated Press, "EU Agrees to Lift 5-Year-Old Sanctions on Cuba."
The European Union on Thursday agreed to lift its diplomatic sanctions against Cuba, but imposed tough conditions on the communist island to maintain sanction-free relations, officials said. The U.S., which has maintained a decades-long trade embargo against Cuba, criticized the move, saying there were no significant signs the communist island was easing a dictatorship. An independent analyst predicted it would have no affect on U.S. policy toward the Caribbean island. Peter De Shazo, Americas Program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the ''decision will not affect the U.S. position toward Cuba'' because the policy is largely fixed by legislation with key changes conditioned on a transition to democracy.Read the article
June 12
Johanna Mendelson-Forman, a senior fellow with the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Associated Press, "Cheney Oil Comment Attacked."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Dick Cheney's office acknowledged on Thursday that he was mistaken when he asserted that China, at Cuba's behest, is drilling for oil in waters 60 miles from the Florida coast. There is no actual drilling yet. ... There is exploration," said Johanna Mendelson-Forman, a senior fellow on energy and Latin America at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She said China's oil company, Sinopac, has conducted exploratory drilling on a lease on land in western Cuba, but is not involved in the offshore development.Read more
May 15
Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a CSIS senior associate, was quoted by Reuters, "Congress Trims Bush Anti-Drug Plan for Mexico."
The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to scale back President George W. Bush's plan to aid Mexico in its increasingly deadly war on illegal drug cartels. The so-called Merida initiative — which Bush proposed last October as a three-year $1.4 billion package providing aircraft, equipment and training — initially was to offer Mexico $500 million in this fiscal year that ends September 30."Though the amount is reduced, the vote conveys to the Calderon government and the Mexican people that both the U.S. administration and Congress are interested in supporting institutions and strengthening law enforcement," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.Read the article
May 2
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by Bloomberg, "Bolivian Autonomy Vote May Undercut Morales, Spark Violence."
Bolivia's wealthiest province votes this weekend on whether to back autonomy from the central government in a vote President Evo Morales says is "illegal" and backed by a "radical" opposition. Voters in the eastern province of Santa Cruz, where the country's natural gas industry is based, cast ballots May 4 on a statute for more control over security, energy and farming policies in a challenge to central government rule.[...] "This is a real challenge to the government and to Morales's skills as a leader," said Peter DeShazo, director of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.Read the article
April 29
Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a CSIS senior associate, was quoted by Reuters, "Gates Urges Congress to Avoid 'Slap' at Mexico."
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday urged Congress to approve a $500 million anti-drug program for Mexico, saying not to do so would be "a slap" against a crucial neighbor beset by drug violence. Gates, only the second U.S. defense chief ever to visit Mexico, told reporters that U.S. congressional inaction on the program known as the Merida initiative would undermine Washington's ability to aid Mexico's counternarcotics fight. Armand Peschard-Sverdrup of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies agreed with Gates' position that U.S. congressional failure could insult Mexico. "You'll have the president of Mexico looking like he had to walk away empty handed, and that could conceivably be seen as yet another snub," he said. Read the article
April 28
A CSIS Americas Program event with Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom was quoted by the Miami Herald, "Bush Pledges Support for Guatemala."
WASHINGTON -- With his Guatemalan counterpart looking on, President Bush Monday urged Congress to approve a $550 million package of anti-drug trafficking assistance for Mexico and Central America.He has also taken a tough line against drug traffickers, telling a gathering at the Center for Strategic and International Studies that he was embarked on a ''frontal assault'' against the drug trade and cooperating with Mexico and the United States more.Read more
April 22
Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a CSIS senior associate, was quoted by the Dallas Morning News, "Calderon Lauds Immigrants Contribution to U.S. Economy."
In signaling the contribution of Mexicans, Mr. Calderon is using a preemptive strategy aimed at "offsetting what might be a growing anti-Mexican sentiment in a country that's navigating through some hard, difficult economic times," said Armand Peschard Sverdrup, a Washington-based political consultant at Peschard & Associates. "There is a risk of a sharpening of anti-immigration sentiment in this country and up to now, that side of the story has yet to be heard in this country because nobody has been very effective in communicating that message." Read more
April 21
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Associated Press, "Bush's Final North American Summit."
President Bush is tending to his country's relationship with Canada and Mexico one last time, trumpeting trade over the "scare tactics" of economic isolation. Bush joins Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon today in New Orleans for his fourth and final North American Leaders' Summit. [...] "The progress tends to be incremental, and therefore is not widely understood," said Peter DeShazo, a top State Department official for Western Hemisphere affairs during Bush's first term. "But in the big picture, there's a more coherent relationship." Read the article
April 21
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by Agence France Press, "North American Leaders to Meet on NAFTA."
The leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States will meet here Monday for an annual summit on the North American Free Trade Agreement, amid sharp criticism of the pact in the US presidential race. As US President George W. Bush meets with his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in New Orleans, US workers' unions and the Democratic White House hopefuls have lambasted NAFTA. [...] "The leaders will probably use the event to underscore the importance of NAFTA at a time when the agreement is coming under fire from the Democratic candidates in the primary race," said Peter DeShazo at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Read the article
April 21
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by Agence France Press, "North American Leaders Meet on NAFTA."
The leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States were meeting here Monday for an annual summit with the North American Free Trade Agreement taking center stage, amid criticism of the pact in the US presidential race. As US President George W. Bush meets with his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, US unions and Democratic White House hopefuls have lambasted the three countries' free trade agreement. [...]"The leaders will probably use the event to underscore the importance of NAFTA at a time when the agreement is coming under fire from the Democratic candidates in the primary race," said Peter DeShazo at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Read the article
April 20
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Houston Chronicle, "Trade Talk of Summit, But Controversy Looms."
With free trade issues looming large in the race to replace him, President Bush this week convenes his final North American Leaders' Summit, focusing on trade, economic and security issues with counterparts from Mexico and Canada. Bush is hosting Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in New Orleans for a two-day conference starting today. It is the fourth annual meeting of a summit that first convened in 2005 in Waco. [...] "I think in general there is a high level of coordination and consultation," said Peter DeShazo, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "There are always bilateral issues that are points of discord because variables in relationships are so great ... (but) the overall importance of the relationships is considerable." Read the article
April 8
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Los Angeles Times, "Bush Seeks to Slash Colombia Trade Tarrifs."
Facing what are widely seen as long odds, President Bush on Monday began the contentious process of trying to win congressional approval of a free trade agreement with Colombia that critics, including many in the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill, say does not do enough to protect workers here or in the South American nation. [. . .] Peter DeShazo, a former deputy assistant secretary of State for Western Hemisphere affairs, said Congress' failure to approve the measure would "be seen by Colombians as the U.S. turning its back on a good friend in the region." Read More
March 28
A CSIS Americas Program event with Jose Miguel Insulza, head of the Organization of American States, was quoted by the Miami Herald, "U.S. 'Concerned' about FARC Uranium."
The State Department said Thursday it was "deeply concerned" by reports that a Colombian guerrilla group possessed presumed depleted uranium, which experts say poses little threat but could indicate a push to get something more dangerous. "We are deeply concerned by the reports that FARC members were trafficking in uranium," State Department spokeswoman Heide Bronke said. "This underscores the terrorist threat that FARC poses to the people of Colombia and to the region." [...] "This is not an imminent problem," Insulza said at an event Thursday organized by two Washington think-tanks, the Inter-American Dialogue and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The FARC doesn't have some kinds of missiles that other [illegal] groups have; I would doubt they have any capacity to enrich uranium. But we will look into the matter, of course."Read the article
March 6
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Washington Post, "Diplomats Closer to Ending Crisis in Latin America."
As Venezuelan troops took up positions on Colombia's border, diplomats at the Organization of American States moved closer Wednesday to resolving a crisis that ignited when Colombia launched a strike against Marxist rebels just inside Ecuador. OAS ambassadors reached a deal that does not condemn Colombia for Saturday's incursion, which led to the deaths of a top rebel commander and 23 other guerrillas. But their resolution says Colombia violated the "sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ecuador" by bombing a rebel camp and then sending soldiers in to recover the body of Luis Edgar Devia, better known as Raúl Reyes, who was one of seven directors of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. [...] "That the resolution was approved by consensus was a good starting point to walking back and defusing tension," said Peter DeShazo, who runs the Americas program for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Read the article
March 5
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Christian Science Monitor, "Colombia: Latin America Tries to Defuse Escalating Crisis."
Latin American countries are rushing to defuse the region's worst diplomatic crisis in years after Ecuador and Venezuela cut ties with Colombia, deployed troops to the borders, and issued warnings of war in the wake of Colombia's airstrike Saturday on leftist rebels based in neighboring Ecuador. The Organization of American States (OAS) moved to hold an emergency meeting Tuesday to press for a peaceful solution, but in the current heated atmosphere, some experts expect the issue to move quickly to the United Nations Security Council. "Rhetoric, when it reaches a certain level, is in and of itself a concern," says Peter DeShazo, the director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "To move things in a positive direction [the countries must] stop the verbal confrontations."Read the article
March 5
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Washington Post, "Heated Words in Wake of Colombian Raid."
While troops in Ecuador and Venezuela moved toward their borders with Colombia, the leaders of those three countries moved further from a negotiated solution Tuesday. One ratcheted up his rhetoric, another cut trade ties, and the third warned of a broader regional conflict if the worsening diplomatic dispute becomes a military confrontation. Ecuador's Rafael Correa visited Peru to begin a tour soliciting Latin American backing for sanctions against Colombia after its military crossed into Ecuador on Saturday to attack guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, who use the frontier region as a sanctuary. Venezuela, which jumped into the dispute in support of Ecuador, announced that it would halt cross-border trade with Colombia. [...] "Certainly one of the points of greatest discord between Venezuela and Colombia has been the overt support of Chávez for the FARC, which resulted in a worsening of diplomatic relations even before March 1," said Peter DeShazo, a former U.S. diplomat in Latin America and currently director of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Generally, Chávez's view on the FARC has been largely benign in the face of a Colombian government that has dedicated itself to encountering the FARC and the other illegal armed groups."Read the article
March 5
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by USA Today, “Analysis: War Not Likely in South America Crisis."
It's not easy trying to read Hugo Chávez's mind. Yet the outcome of South America's most serious military crisis in many years, which intensified this week when Chávez threatened war with neighboring Colombia, may ultimately be determined by the whims of the often volatile Venezuelan president. Full-scale war between Venezuela and Colombia still seems unlikely because of $5 billion in annual trade and a history of warm relations between the countries, says Peter DeShazo, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington. Read the article
March 5
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by Bloomberg, "Ecuador, Colombia Move Closer to Ending Border Rift."
Colombia and Ecuador moved closer to settling a dispute stemming from Colombia's cross-border military incursion to kill a rebel leader last week. Colombia avoided condemnation of its raid in an accord with neighboring Ecuador that was approved by the Organization of American States. The agreement sets a framework for an investigation into the incident. [...] "Military conflict is something that none of the parties want and that they will all try to avoid," said Peter Deshazo, director of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.Read the article
March 5
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, appeared on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show, "Saber Rattling in the Andes."
Colombia's struggle against the rebel group known as the FARC became a regional crisis this week, after Bogota launched airstrikes into neighboring Ecuador and killed a top FARC leader. Now, Ecuador and Venezuela are both amassing troops at their borders with Colombia and have cut diplomatic relations with their neighbor. Join Kojo as we make sense of the complex situation and examine the role being played by the U.S. Guests Juan Forero, Reporter, National Public Radio Peter DeShazo, Director, Americas Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies Michael Shifter, Vice President for Policy at Inter-American Dialogue; and Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service Listen to the segment (Real Audio) Listen to the segment (Windows Media)
February 20
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Washington Times, “Raul in Spotlight as Fidel Fades."
Raul Castro, a familiar face in Cuba but still an enigma to many of his countrymen, yesterday emerged at last from his older brother's giant shadow. The 76-year-old longtime defense minister will need his trademark baseball cap and tinted glasses as he faces the glare of global scrutiny, at a time when the island is facing critical economic problems and the first transfer of power since the revolution a half-century ago. "I would expect Raul's main focus — at least in the short term — will be change in the economic area, not in politics," said Peter DeShazo, former Latin American point man for the State Department and now director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Read the article
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Christian Science Monitor, “Castro Exit Unlikely to Thaw U.S.-Cuba Relations."
Fidel Castro's announcement that he would neither seek, nor accept, another term as president of Cuba is not expected to have an immediate impact on US policy toward the communist island-state. Rather, the announcement is viewed as a continuation of a transition of power orchestrated by Mr. Castro himself. Analysts expect his brother, Raúl Castro, to be named president of Cuba on Sunday when the party meets to select the State Council and president. Peter DeShazo, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says he does not expect any substantial policy change in Washington. "The administration's policy has been, Cuba should be democratic," Mr. DeShazo says. "The administration has already said, if it's Raúl, or Fidel, it's still the same administration." Read the article
February 20
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Los Angeles Times, “Cuba Without Fidel? It’s the Same Old Story."
Fidel Castro's resignation as Cuba's president arrived on a long-awaited yet disappointing day for U.S. leaders who unsuccessfully worked for decades to help bring about his government's collapse. Almost from the time Castro seized power in 1959, U.S. leaders have shaped their policies around their confidence that the communist regime on Florida's doorstep soon would give way to a democratic and pro-U.S. government. "People thought it was the end for Cuba," said Peter DeShazo, a former U.S. State Department official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. In 1993, a Miami journalist, Andres Oppenheimer, visited Cuba and wrote a book titled "Castro's Final Hour."Read the article
February 19
Peter DeShazo, director of the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by Reuters, “U.S. Says No Cuba Policy Change as Fidel Goes."
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Fidel Castro's departure will not change Bush administration policy toward Cuba, with an embargo and other restrictions intact so long as Castro's brother -- dubbed a "dictator lite" -- is in charge. "I don't think there will be any political opening in the short term under Raul," said Peter DeShazo, director of the Americas program for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think-tank. Read the article
February 12
Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a CSIS senior associate, was quoted by Bloomberg, "Calderon, on U.S. Trip, Says Growth will Cut Mexican Emigration."
Mexican President Felipe Calderon, on a tour of the U.S., said emigration will be reduced by creating jobs and fostering economic growth at home. "It's possible to transform Mexico from a nation that loses its best people to migration into a nation capable of generating opportunity for Mexicans on their own soil," Calderon said yesterday at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [...] "One can attribute Mexico's political stability to that escape valve," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, director of the Mexico Project for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "Calderon has come to realize he can't afford for there to be a vacuum on the immigration debate."Read the article
January 3
"Colombia: Back from the Brink," a report by the CSIS Americas Program, was quoted by the Miami Herald, "Steps toward progress, peace."
[...] Last November, the Center for Strategic and International Studies issued ''Back from the Brink: Evaluating Progress in Colombia, 1999-2007,'' a timely report that should be acknowledged by the ongoing debate in the U.S. Congress on Plan Colombia and the U.S.Colombia Free Trade Agreement. It's always best to argue from facts, which Back from the Brink provides aplenty (http://www.csis.org/colombiareport/). There's no escaping the report's conclusion that Colombia has made impressive progress in bolstering the state's authority, strengthening the rule of law, expanding the numbers and quality of the armed forces, demobilizing the paramilitaries, rolling back the FARC and, yes, improving human rights.Read the article
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