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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · 1d

I wrote in The Dallas Morning News: “Turning the armed forces toward specific domestic political targets breaches a core norm: an apolitical military. Latin American history is clear. Internal security missions make generals central actors in domestic governance.”
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · 20d

Do “normies” watch late night TV?

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · 20d

Panama in China-US Strategic Competition thediplomat.com/2025/09/pana... "Suppose Panama can show that a sovereignty-first, rules-based posture unlocks U.S. and allied capital without foreclosing commercial ties to China."

Panama in China-US Strategic Competition

Insights from Orlando J. Pérez.

thediplomat.com

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · 25d

Brazil Just Succeeded Where America Failed www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/o... “With all its flaws, Brazilian democracy is healthier today than America’s. Keenly aware of their country’s authoritarian past, Brazil’s judicial and political authorities did not take democracy for granted.”

Opinion | Brazil Just Succeeded Where America Failed

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Orlando J. Pérez

Julia Azari @juliaazari.bsky.social · 27d

more than a decade of public scholarship has taught me that the moments when it's most tempting to react strongly and quickly are the ones when it's most useful to step back, seek context, and force yourself to think slowly. i don't always follow it, but those are my guidelines for myself.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 22

Only Trump can make John Bolton seem sympathetic! 🙄

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 22

And Mulino has already made his strategic decision: US is the preferred partner…🤷🏻‍♂️

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 15

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 12

9/ These Latin American examples show the pitfalls of turning soldiers into policemen. They often blur institutional boundaries, weaken civilian policing, and chip away at democratic norms.

Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 12

8/ Effectiveness vs. legitimacy: Militarization can reduce visible crime in the short term but often degrades investigative capacity and police professionalism, which harms long-run security. #Mexico’s expansion of military roles beyond security further weakens civilian institutions.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 12

7/ Rule-of-law trade-offs: States of exception or NIAC (non-international armed conflict) labels, as declared in #Ecuador, can lower rights protections and judicial scrutiny.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 12

6/ In #ElSalvador, sustained militarized policing consolidates executive dominance, sidelines judicial oversight, and habituates the armed forces and police to extraordinary powers.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 12

5/ Outcomes on crime are mixed; the governance trade-offs are clearer. #Mexico’s security policy under #AMLO normalized military roles far beyond policing, concentrating budgets and administrative tasks in the armed forces and weakening civilian agencies.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 12

4/ Repeated internal missions expand military leverage over civilians. #Brazil’s GLO (Garantia da Lei e da Ordem) gives the presidency a legal on-ramp to grant soldiers temporary police powers. While GLO should be “episodic.” The practice has become a feature of Brazilian democracy.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 12

3/ Militarized policing is politically attractive yet institutionally costly. Publics often trust armies more than police, which tempts executives to deploy soldiers for street crime and order maintenance. That choice tends to raise the risk of abuses, blur accountability, and slow police reform.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 12

2/ Domestic deployments of military forces risk undermining civilian control and normalizing the use of force in everyday governance. Latin America provides plenty of evidence for the corrosive effect of militarizing public security. www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americ...

The Generals’ Labyrinth: Crime and the Military in Mexico | International Crisis Group

Mexico’s outgoing president has deployed more soldiers than ever to fight crime. But levels of violence remain high. His successor should set limits to the military’s role in public safety while worki...

www.crisisgroup.org

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 12

1/ The @deptofdefense.govmirrors.com is weighing a “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force.” 600 Guard troops split between Alabama and Arizona, deployable in one hour. 🧵https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/08/12/national-guard-civil-unrest/

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Reposted by Orlando J. Pérez

Jeff Asher @jeffasher.bsky.social · Aug 11

One thing that didn't make it into today's piece:

Washington, DC already has by far the highest number of law enforcement officers per capita of any city of 250k+.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 11

Deploying the National Guard to DC over crime rates that are actually falling isn’t about safety—it’s about politics. Militarizing domestic policing erodes civilian control & normalizes troops in the streets. That’s a dangerous precedent in a democracy.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 11

Claims of a DC “crime wave” ignore the facts: violent crime is down ~26% this year, homicides down 12%, robberies down 28%. 2025 is on track for some of the lowest levels in decades. Fear sells—facts don’t! www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/i...

Is DC crime ‘totally out of control,' as Trump said? What the numbers show

President Donald Trump called D.C. crime “ridiculous” in remarks Wednesday in the Oval Office. He threatened to federalize the police department and even bring in National Guard troops. But Metropolit...

www.nbcwashington.com

Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 11

NYT & CNN en Español have stories on it.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 11

The ghosts of Gaitán (1948), Galán (1989), and Gómez Hurtado (1995) still haunt #Colombia’s democracy. The assassination of presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe is a stark reminder that democracy cannot thrive when bullets silence ballots.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 1

4⃣ Today, #Salvadorans who oppose #Bukele or suffer from his policies have virtually no independent court, legislature, or media to turn to – a hallmark of authoritarian rule.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 1

3⃣ #Bukele insists he is empowering the people, but in practice, he has eliminated nearly all avenues for the people to change or check their leader lawfully.

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Orlando J. Pérez @perez1oj.bsky.social · Aug 1

2⃣ It also requires respect for pluralism, civil liberties, and checks and balances to protect against the “tyranny of the majority.”

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