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Politics

Aug 12, 2026 Jorge G. Castañeda  and Carlos Ominami

The resurgence of guerrilla warfare in Ukraine and Iran has underscored the potential benefits of asymmetric action in today’s increasingly multipolar world. Latin America, in particular, should consider how to leverage its many strengths to remedy its relatively weak position on the global stage.

MEXICO CITY—The wars in Iran and Ukraine have put the spotlight back on guerrilla warfare. Conflicts in which smaller groups, forces, or countries resist or defeat much stronger adversaries using unconventional tactics, weapons, and strategies date back to the Scythian resistance to Persian Emperor Darius I. But this type of fighting is more commonly linked to the Spanish insurgency following Napoleon’s 1808 invasion (guerrilla means “small war” in Spanish).