Under Siege: U.S.-Mexico Relations & National Security with Eric L. Olson on Tues. March 16

Posted on February 11, 2010 | Filed Under Past Events

Mexico is growing more dangerous daily, with escalating kidnappings, murders and other drug-related violence.  Recently, a failed kidnapping attempt left seven gunmen and a federal police officer dead. In Ciudad Juarez, 15 teens were killed when a gunman stormed a party at a private home.

The situation has intensified since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels in 2007, deploying 45,000 troops to 18 states where trafficking groups are battling for access to the U.S. market.

Eric L. Olson, Senior Advisor at the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., will address these headline issues and more on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 6:00 P.M. (Great Decisions at 5:00P.M.)

Location: The Hope Club, 6 Benevolent Street, Providence

Call now to make your reservation at (401) 228–8657, or email our Executive Director, Yvonne Shilling at ygshill@yahoo.com.

For dinner schedule and information, please see the Dinner-Speakers tab in the black navigation bar at the top of this page.

Click “Read More” for additional information about our speaker.

Eric L. Olson specializes in U.S. – Latin American relations, Mexico and Central America, democracy promotion, human rights and justice reform.  He oversees the Mexico Institute’s research and publications related to security cooperation between the U.S., Mexico and Central America and efforts to combat organized crime in the Americas.  His research focuses on efforts to reduce the demand for illegal drugs in the U.S., combating money laundering and trafficking in weapons.  He was formerly Advocacy Director for the Americas at Amnesty International and Senior Associate for Mexico and Economic Policy and the Washington Office on Latin America.