During that period of time, there were many rural and urban guerrilla campaigns in the region, most notably in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. When the mid-1980s came around, guerrilla attacks against U.S. interests were taking place at the rate of one attack every ten days. They accounted for half of the terrorist attacks against U.S. targets, at the time. Western and Latin American businessmen were being kidnapped and murdered at an alarming rate. But today, as we enter the late 1990s, the security situation in Latin America is quite different.
Less violence is perceived.
There are better counter-insurgency techniques being employed by the governments. Marxist ideals have been discredited. And social reform, in many of the countries, has led to a smaller number of guerrilla activities. The only two Latin American countries with significant guerrilla problems are Colombia and Peru. Guerrillas still pop up in other countries in the region, but they are not seen to pose a significant threat to any governments.