South America

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Peru, Ecuador Step Up Cooperation to Counter the Spread of Illegal Mining

Peru and Ecuador are coordinating their security forces against illegal mining and logging along their shared border with a clear objective: preventing criminal networks from shifting their operations across the border when pressure increases in either country. In May 2026, the countries’ defense ministers met in Arenillas, Ecuador, and agreed to strengthen cooperation against transnational organized crime, illegal mining, and…

Central America

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Guatemala Strengthens Border Security Through Intelligence and Cooperation

Guatemala is reshaping its border security approach, moving from broad-based controls toward a model driven by intelligence, risk management, and interagency coordination. The goal is to anticipate the operations of transnational criminal networks and stop them before they can establish new corridors in the country. The strategy seeks to integrate government capabilities to share information, identify risk patterns, and direct…

Caribbean

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Operation Ultramar: Dominican Republic, US Disrupt Traffickers in the Central Caribbean

From August 15–28, 2026, the Dominican Republic and the United States combined intelligence, surveillance, maritime patrol aircraft, surface vessels, and partner-nation interdiction capabilities during Operation Ultramar, a coordinated counternarcotics effort in the Central Caribbean. The operation demonstrated how the Dominican Republic and the United States, supported by regional and international partners, can apply persistent systemic friction to transnational criminal organizations…

Spotlight Interviews

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Academia

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Advanced Capabilities Needed to Counter China-Russia Space Weapon Cooperation

This article was originally published on U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s Magazine Forum, on August 3, 2026. China and Russia are expanding cooperation on space capabilities to degrade, disrupt or destroy military satellites as well as commercial constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink. Beijing and Moscow are sharing expertise, coordinating policies and investing in counterspace options that go beyond traditional anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles.…

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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