From Peril to Partnership - US Security Assistance and the Bid to Stabilize Colombia and Mexico

Aug 6, 2026

Uploaded by Levi

From Peril to Partnership examines how US security assistance aimed to stabilize Colombia and Mexico, tracing policy choices from their origins to later institutional effects. The analysis compares US security assistance approaches, explains the emergence of Plan Colombia and the Mérida Initiative, and evaluates how security sector reform was structured and assessed in both countries. It also studies the role of private-sector actors, domestic political party relations, and centralization of security forces, ending with a retrospective of outcomes and local preferences.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages466

Reading Time19 h 34 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Forged under Fire: US Partnership with Colombia and Mexico

The Security Sector in Latin America: Comparing US Security Assistance to Colombia and Mexico

The Origins of Plan Colombia and the Mérida Initiative

Structuring Security Assistance in Colombia and Mexico

Evaluating Security Sector Reform in Colombia and Mexico

Bringing in Big Business: The Role of the Private Sector

Finding Common Ground: Interparty Relations and Continuity in Security Sector Reform

Building a Monopoly of Force: The Effect of Security Sector Centralization on Security Sector Reform

Sustaining Progress: A Retrospective of Plan Colombia and the Mérida Initiative

Conclusion: Security Assistance and Local Preferences and Power Relations

Appendix

Bibliography

Reading Bibliography

Index

From Peril to Partnership [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) From Peril to Partnership US Security Assistance and the Bid to Stabilize Colombia and Mexico Paul J. Angelo A Council on Foreign Relations Book [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2024 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the US Department of Defense or the US Government. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Angelo, Paul J., author. Title: From peril to partnership : US security assistance and the bid to stabilize Colombia and Mexico / Paul J. Angelo. Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2024. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2023009079 (print) | LCCN 2023009080 (ebook) | ISBN 9780197688106 (hardback) | ISBN 9780197688120 | ISBN 9780197688113 (epub) | ISBN 9780197688137 Subjects: LCSH: Military assistance, American—Colombia. | Military assistance, American—Mexico. | Internal security—Colombia. | Internal security—Mexico. | Drug control—Colombia. | Drug control—Mexico. | Plan Colombia (U.S.) | Merida Initiative (U.S.) Classification: LCC E183.8.C7 A64 2023 (print) | LCC E183.8.C7 (ebook) | DDC 327.730861—dc23/eng/20230324 LC record available at [https://lccn.loc.gov/2023009079](https://lccn.loc.gov/2023009079)[ ](https://lccn.loc.gov/2023009079)LC ebook record available at [https://lccn.loc.gov/2023009080](https://lccn.loc.gov/2023009080)[ ](https://lccn.loc.gov/2023009080)DOI: 10. 1093/oso/9780197688106 .001.0001 [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being aresource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. Founded in 1921, CFR carries out its mission by maintaining a diverse membership, including special programs to promote interest and develop expertise in the next generation of foreign policy leaders; convening meetings at its headquarters in New York and in Washington, DC, and other cities where senior government officials, members of Congress, global leaders, and prominent thinkers come together with CFR members to discuss and debate major international issues; supporting a Studies Program that fosters independent research, enabling CFR scholars to produce articles, reports, and books and hold roundtables that analyze foreign policy issues and make concrete policy recommendations; publishing Foreign Affairs, the preeminent journal of international affairs and US foreign policy; sponsoring Independent Task Forces that produce reports with both findings and policy prescriptions on the most important foreign policy

FAQs

What is the main focus of From Peril to Partnership?

It focuses on US security assistance efforts to stabilize Colombia and Mexico, from how the initiatives began to how security sector reform was structured, evaluated, and sustained.

How does the book treat Plan Colombia and the Mérida Initiative?

It presents their origins and later assesses their progress through a retrospective, linking these initiatives to broader patterns in security sector reform.

Which factors does the book examine beyond formal assistance programs?

It examines the roles of the private sector, interparty relations, and the centralization of security forces, showing how these elements affect reform outcomes.

Aug 6, 2026

Uploaded by Levi

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