South America

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SOUTHCOM Commander Meets with Ecuadorian Leaders to Strengthen Security Cooperation

U.S. Marine Corps General Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), met with President Daniel Noboa and senior Ecuadorian defense officials on March 2 in Quito, Ecuador, to discuss security cooperation and reaffirm the United States’ strong commitment to supporting the nation’s efforts to confront narco-terrorism and strengthen regional security. The March 1-2 trip to Ecuador was Gen.…

Central America

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Panama and Costa Rica Deepen Security Cooperation Along Shared Border

Panama and Costa Rica are deepening their border cooperation through enhanced surveillance, coordinated patrols, and intelligence sharing as transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) continue to adapt their operations along one of Central America’s most important land corridors. That effort took another step forward in April, when officials from both countries met in the Paso Canoas border area to discuss measures aimed…

Caribbean

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China Strengthens Its Influence in Cuba’s Strategic Nickel Sector

As Canadian company Sherritt International’s participation in Cuba’s nickel sector faces a period of uncertainty after initially announcing plans to withdraw from one of its joint ventures with the Havana regime, China is steadily expanding its technological support for the island’s mining industry. The introduction of Chinese-supplied equipment to modernize aging facilities is helping keep one of the Cuban regime’s…

Spotlight Interviews

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Academia

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Nothing Happens Until Something Moves: Designing a Multinational Movement and Transportation Manual to Enable Military Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

Hurricanes devastate Caribbean islands, earthquakes destroy infrastructure across multiple countries, and volcanoes spew lava, isolating mountain towns from the rest of the country. These disasters often exceed a nation’s capacity to rescue and care for its affected citizens. When that happens, nations typically turn to national and international civilian organizations, such as the United Nations. However, when those organizations cannot…

Countering OBOR: Partners Gain Momentum with Strategic Response to China’s One Belt, One Road Scheme

This article was originally published on the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s Magazine Forum, on February 2, 2026. Beijing has denied since launching One Belt, One Road (OBOR) in 2013 that the infrastructure scheme is a tool for expanding geopolitical influence. Instead, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims that OBOR is a global development platform aimed at inclusive, multilateral cooperation and common…

Special Report

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Ecuador at the Crossroads of Transnational Crime: Violence, Criminal Reconfiguration, and Regional Challenges – PART II

For decades, Ecuador was perceived as an exception in a region plagued by drug trafficking, armed violence, and criminal capture of the state. While neighboring countries faced open wars between cartels and state forces, Ecuador seemed to remain on the sidelines of these dynamics. That image began to slowly crack and finally collapsed in January 2024, when President Daniel Noboa…

Photo Galleries

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