Michael Shifter

Over the year and a half since its signing, the peace deal continues to face mounting challenges in turning its terms into a reality.

For many Hondurans, the current political drama is all too familiar: it is a possible repeat of the events surrounding the 2009 coup d’état, and a tragic...

Venezuela’s democracy has crumbled—but because the Maduro government's position is still unsustainable, the opposition should keep on planning for an eventual...

Venezuela's decision to quit the OAS shouldn't spell the end of Latin America's campaign to help end the country's crisis.

Just a decade ago, much of the political left in Latin America and beyond still admired Venezuela’s ambitious socialist project. Today, however, few dispute that it...

Worsening economic and political crises, mostly of the government's own making, continue to threaten Venezuela's stability. With inflation at 200 percent and among...

U.S. sanctions against Venezuela were met with controversy not because of whom they targeted, but rather due to language that could help bolster President Nicolás...

After a reign of 14 years, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez died on March 5, 2013. Regardless of what follows, Chávez’s legacy, and the damage he left behind, will...

An annotated Foreign Affairs syllabus on Venezuela.

After the June ousting of President José Manuel Zelaya, Honduras has become a test of the Obama administration's posture toward the whole of Latin America.

Shifter's update to his May/June 2006 essay "In Search of Hugo Chávez."

Shifter's update to his September/October 2004 essay "Breakdown in the Andes"

The debate over Hugo Chávez has been dominated by opposing caricatures -- a polarization that has thwarted a sound policy response. The Venezuelan president has an...

The southern Andes, long known for social volatility and economic disarray, is on the verge of chaos. This need not be cause for fatalism, however. By reengaging...

Colombians no longer trust their government to salvage the economy, fight the drug lords, or negotiate with the rebels. A bad neighborhood is about to get worse.