In the past few years we have seen Venezuela as an arms recipient, but does it now qualify as an arms dealer? In late September the Chávez administration donated six combat airplanes to Ecuador.
Despite the weapons transfer, relations between Colombia and Ecuador appear to be on the mend, with talks about the resumption of diplomatic relations. The Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa remains a realist, however, stating that his country is “always going to watch its back”.
Arms sales and transfers remain tricky business. Once upon a time, Venezuela itself purchased the bulk of its weapons systems from the United States. This rings a bell – the US selling arms that can later be turned against its own forces (see, most recently, Iraq and Afghanistan).
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
