Latin America has taken a democratic backslide in the 21st century with more regimes entrenching themselves in power through autocratic practices and political repression. The lack of human rights and increase in political violence in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, are alarming, especially as this sort of authoritarian learning starts to spread throughout the region. For Episode 35 of the Border Wars Podcast, we are joined by Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano of the Republic of Paraguay, who shares lessons learned throughout his 35 years of diplomatic experience. Paraguay is a staunch supporter of Israel; it's the largest country recognizing Taiwan; and is an important trade partner for Brazil and Argentina, two of the largest countries in Latin America. Minister Ramírez Lezcano takes us through a tour of the region, discussing the challenges in Venezuela and Cuba, while explaining the opportunities in the Caribbean countries. Nominated by Paraguayan President Santiago Peña as a candidate to be the next secretary general of the Organization of American States, Minister Ramírez Lezcano also provides his vision for the OAS ahead of its election in March 2025.

Marxism has evolved from being an economic theory to a cultural battle that is subverting public schools, universities, the media, hollywood, and much more throughout America and the world. This isn't Soviet Marxism of the 1960s, it's Next Gen Marxism that has fueled violent protests and riots from Chile to Colombia to the United States and is destroying the nuclear family. For Episode 34 of the Border Wars Podcast, we sit down with author and renowned scholar Katie Gorka, who describes the geneology of Marxism from Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Antonio Gramsci, to Black Lives Matter and Antifa. In her latest book "Next Gen Marxism: What it is and how to combat it," co-authored with The Heritage Foundation scholar Mike Gonzalez, Gorka explains the top ten tactics for patriots to fight back and win the cultural battle against Woke ideology.

As China enters into a quarrel with the Philippines in the South China Sea and holds military drills encircling Taiwan - the question is no longer if China will attack but when? Understanding the warfare strategy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is essential for U.S. national security and important for allies in the Indo-Pacific: India, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, the Pacific Islands, and more. For Episode 33 of the Border Wars Podcast, we sit down with two top Indo-Pacific experts to explain what happens when China attacks and how to respond. Col. (ret) Grant Newsham from the Center for Security Policy (CSP) and Cleo Paskal from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) join the podcast to discuss how China's war against the U.S. and the West has already begun.

Grant Newsham is a retired U.S. Marine and American Diplomat that has served in the Indo-Pacific for decades and lived in Tokyo for more than twenty years and the author of the new book "When China Attacks: A Warning To America."

Cleo Paskal is a former travel journalist and current special correspondent for the Sunday Guardian newspaper in India, focusing her work on the Indo-Pacific, including recent research on the U.S. Freely Associated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands.