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Welcome to S-RM’s Latin America & Caribbean Regional Bulletin.
This edition takes a look at the implications of the recent Paradise Papers leak, as well reviewing security, business and political developments from across the region. The latest data leak has generated a wave of negative publicity for those implicated over the past two weeks, and serves as a reminder to offshore services providers in the Caribbean and beyond of the need to invest in robust cyber security measures.
Our News in Brief section focuses on recent political developments in Latin America, with upcoming general elections in Chile and infighting at the highest echelons of Ecuadorian politics: as Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno is facing a mutiny within his own party, Chile’s centre-right pro-business candidate, Sebastián Piñera, looks set to claim victory when Chileans head to the polls this week. Our news section also features an update from Brazil, where president Temer has avoided standing trial on charges of criminal conspiracy, and where the state of Rio de Janeiro has recently passed encouraging legislation aimed at improving compliance processes in public tenders.
Our second article examines the worsening security situation in Mexico, where the Sinaloa cartel, Mexico’s largest criminal organisation and possibly the world’s largest drug trafficking syndicate, is under strain. As counterintuitive as it may appear, a deterioration in the cartel’s dominance may not spell good news for the overall security situation in Mexico, bearing in mind the alternative criminal organisations that may step into its place. Our article examines the driving forces behind the cartel’s decline, and the risks posed by the possible ascendency of its more violent rivals, in particular the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
As ever, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’ve any questions about our bulletin, or if you’d like to learn more about our services.
Best Regards,
Emil de Carvalho