While speaking about the likelihood of Mexican cartel involvement in the claimed plot against the Saudi ambassador to the U.S., AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini said the sum allegedly offered to the cartel was "chump change compared to the money they're making from moving coke."

Peru’s President Ollanta Humala is tackling police corruption by purging two thirds of the force’s top generals—a move some see as an attempt to fill the ranks with allies.

In testimony to the U.S. House's Committee on Foreign Affairs, COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth discussed the worrying growth of violence in Latin America stemming from the drug trade. He recommended continued support of efforts to strengthen democracy and reduce U.S. drug use.

Violence has spiked and people are dying gruesome, preventable deaths in Central America, Mexico, and elsewhere as a result of U.S. consumer tastes. Blood diamonds? No, conflict drugs, writes COA's Eric Farnsworth for The Huffington Post.

Mexican bloggers are under attack for using social media to report drug related crimes. The Washington Post refers to Americas Quarterly's recount of civilians in dangerous areas of the country using Twitter to denounce crimes.

AS/COA Miami Manager Madeleine Johnson spoke with Felipe Bosch Gutiérrez, board member of Corporación Multi-Inversiones, regarding the current security situation in Guatemala and the outlook for September presidential elections.

COA's Eric Farnsworth writes in a letter to the Financial Times that drug-related violence in Central America "is not just a security threat, it is also a growing threat to democracy itself."