Two distinct and remarkably dissimilar international events developed in parallel in Russian foreign policy over the last two weeks: rapprochement with Poland and networking in Latin America. The latter started with Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin’s, visit to Venezuela and continued with President, Dmitry Medvedev’s, official... MORE

During his presidential tour of Latin America in 2008, Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia’s Latin American policy was only beginning. Although the pace of these relations cooled in 2009, due to the global economic crisis, Moscow is now making good on Medvedev’s promise. On February... MORE

Shaykh Abdullah al-Faisal al-Jamaikee (The Jamaican), the radical Jamaican-born cleric, made international headlines when he was arrested in Mombassa, Kenya on New Year’s Eve, 2009. Kenya’s Anti-Terrorism Police Unity (ATPU) arrested al-Faisal in the suburbs of Nyali after he was leaving a local mosque with... MORE

Strengthening China’s military presence in Latin America is one of the many manifestations of Beijing’s increased activity on the international stage. Arms sales is a subset of the Chinese military's growing involvement in Latin America. Yet, Chinese arms sales represent a small portion of its... MORE

After a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, the aftershock reached China in ways that few observers could have anticipated. After all, the link between the world’s most powerful rising economy and one of its most troubled states is tenuous. China and... MORE

When Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) Wu Banggou arrived in the Bahamas in early September 2009 on the second leg of his Americas tour, it quickly became clear that he was not on vacation. As China’s top legislator and... MORE

Since 2008, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has moved forward with a series of large aid and investment deals, indicating that the PRC is raising its stake in Latin America to a new level [1]. The impact of China's expanding commitment in Latin America... MORE

Last week Hugo Chavez, the flamboyant leftist President of Venezuela, while meeting in Moscow with President Dmitry Medvedev, announced the recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia -the Georgian breakaway regions, occupied by Russian troops during the short war in August 2008. Venezuela... MORE

On July 27, 2009 Trinidadians marked the nineteenth anniversary of the failed attempt by the Jamaat al-Muslimeen (JAM - Muslim Association, known colloquially as “the Jamaat)” to overthrow the government in Trinidad and Tobago in a violent coup.  Although JAM made international headlines in June... MORE

In a May 9 interview with Brazilian defense, strategy and intelligence news website Defasanet, Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim stated that Brazil and China had reached an agreement to train personnel from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in Brazil. In the interview (available in... MORE