Small Wars Journal

El Centro

SWJ El Centro, or "downtown" in Spanish, is our town square for analysis and discussion of Latin America's guerilla wars and criminal insurgencies.  More about El Centro here.

Recent El Centro Journal Articles and SWJ Blog Posts:

by Robert Bunker | Sun, 11/16/2014 - 6:20pm | 0 comments

The crushing of protests by ordinary citizens follows a pattern of violence stretching back to 1968.

by Dave Dilegge | Wed, 09/24/2014 - 2:37pm | 3 comments

The number of American cities that have the presence of at least one of the seven major Mexican Drug Cartels have more than tripled since 2010...

by Robert Bunker | Wed, 09/24/2014 - 12:34pm | 0 comments
by Robert Bunker | Sun, 08/17/2014 - 7:59am | 3 comments

The "black market" accounts for a quarter of Mexico's GDP and employs more than half its workforce. The numbers illustrate a failure of public policy and raise a red flag for the future.

by SWJ Editors | Wed, 08/13/2014 - 8:53pm | 0 comments

Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that sending National Guard troops to the Texas-Mexico border will defend not just his home state but the entire nation.

by SWJ Editors | Mon, 08/04/2014 - 11:36am | 7 comments

The lessons of counterinsurgency and nation-building in Colombia can also apply to the Arab world.

by Robert Bunker | Sat, 08/02/2014 - 12:41am | 0 comments

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #21: Cartel Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

by SWJ Editors | Tue, 07/29/2014 - 7:36pm | 1 comment

"This monograph demonstrates that a combination of high quantity and high quality USSOF engagement bolstered Colombian capacity."

by Robert Bunker | Mon, 07/21/2014 - 6:41am | 0 comments

The Transnational Gang Threat - Part 1: Joining Forces to Meet the Challenge - FBI

by SWJ Editors, by Robert Bunker, by John P. Sullivan | Mon, 07/21/2014 - 1:23am | 0 comments

This work marks the 3rd Small Wars Journal-El Centro anthology.

by John P. Sullivan | Thu, 07/17/2014 - 9:59am | 0 comments
by SWJ Editors | Sun, 07/06/2014 - 11:54am | 5 comments

A top United States general in charge of protecting the southern border says he’s been unable to combat the steady flow of illegal drugs, weapons and people from Central America.

by Robert Bunker | Tue, 06/24/2014 - 12:37am | 0 comments

How Government Structure Encourages Criminal Violence: The Causes of Mexico’s Drug War by Viridiana Rios Contreras

by Robert Bunker | Mon, 06/09/2014 - 6:08pm | 0 comments

"Mexico's apparent unabated rates of homicide, kidnappings and assassinations, with targets that include public figures and journalists, continue."