News & Commentary

The top American diplomat for counternarcotics policy, William Brownfield, is apparently resigning. Brownfield spoke at the Pan American Association in October, 2013.

Peru fears Venezuela may be headed toward civil war as a political crisis deepens and its economy implodes under the rule of socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Peru’s foreign minister told Reuters on Wednesday.

Ambassador William Brownfield, a very distinguished diplomat, is being considered for Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. Brownfield has spoken at the Pan American Association.

“But corruption’s roots run so deep in Brazil that, like a tree as old as the garden it grows in, uprooting it can cause tremendous upheaval. Mr. da Silva’s once unthinkable decline is just one expression of the turmoil reaching across Brazil. A stunning number of establishment political figures have been implicated, leaving the world’s fifth most populous country with few credible leaders. Political infighting and public distrust are skyrocketing. So is polarization, as citizens increasingly blame the other side for their country’s problems.”