China’s Stake in Peru’s Ports, Increased Cause for Concern
In late March, the Peruvian government, through the Private Investment Promotion Agency (ProInversión), awarded the New San Juan de Marcona Port Terminal project, in the Ica region, to Chinese firm Jinzhao Peru Port Terminal for its design, financing, construction, operation, and maintenance. Work on the mega-port is expected to begin [ … ]
SOUTHCOM-Sponsored Friendship 2024 Operation Successfully Concludes in the Dominican Republic
U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) together with the ministries of Defense and Public Health of the Dominican Republic formally closed the medical operation “Friendship 2024,” which took place April 10-19 at the Dr. Francisco Vicente Castro Sandoval Hospital, also known as the Boca Chica Municipal Hospital. For nine days, some 31 [ … ]
Colombian Military Forces, Partner Nations Put Interoperability to the Test to Fight Forest Fires
Colombia faced an unparalleled wave of forest fires during the first quarter of 2024. The situation derived from the decrease in rainfall, as well as the increase in temperatures that characterize the climatic phenomenon known as El Niño, affected 94,956 hectares, distributed in 29 of the country’s 32 departments, according [ … ]
CENTAM Guardian 24, Preparing Against Threats in Central America
Multinational military exercise CENTAM Guardian 2024 concluded in Honduras at the Soto Cano Air Base in Comayagua. Phase one of the U.S. Southern Command- (SOUTHCOM) sponsored exercise, carried out April 1-12, saw the participation of 284 military personnel from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, as well as 212 U.S. troops. [ … ]
Brazil to Inaugurate International Amazon Security Center
Brazil is moving forward with the creation of an international Amazon security center, which will coordinate the region’s security forces in the fight against environmental crimes and drug trafficking. Based in Manaus, the Center for International Police Cooperation in the Amazon (CCPI-Amazon) will bring together officers from the eight countries [ … ]
Paraguayan Navy Marines Hosts US Counterparts to Plan Future Training, Build Security Cooperation
In a move to increase collaboration and partnership the Marine Infantry Command (COMIM) of the Paraguayan Navy hosted members of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South (MARFORSOUTH), for collaborative planning between militaries, April 8-11. The staff planning working group, held in the city of Asunción, Paraguay, marks an important step [ … ]
Ecuador, Peru, Combat Transborder Illegal Gold Trafficking
Each day, some 100 tons of raw material, use to process gold, extracted from Peru is smuggled into Ecuador along a route in the Amazon that illegal miners control in cahoots with transnational criminal organizations, Peruvian daily El Comercio reported in a recent investigation. The route starts in the province [ … ]
China Erodes Latin America’s Democracies
China’s economic, diplomatic, political, and security activities in the region are contributing to democratic backsliding in Latin America and the Caribbean. Such is one of the conclusions of the report Exporting Autocracy, China’s Role in Democratic Backsliding in Latin America and the Caribbean, of U.S. think tank Center for Strategic [ … ]
Guatemala Hosts Central American Security Conference, Focuses on Cyber Security
For this year’s Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC), defense and public-security leaders from the United States and Central America discussed the central theme to the conference, which was using innovations to protect borders in all domains. Guatemala City was the location this year as the Minister of Defense Brigadier General [ … ]
SOUTHCOM Commander Meets with Guatemalan Leaders, Central American Security Chiefs in Guatemala
U.S. Army General Laura J. Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), visited Guatemala April 15-18, meeting with President Bernardo Arévalo and senior defense leaders, as well as taking part in the Central American Security Conference 2024 (CENTSEC). The trip to Guatemala was Gen. Richardson’s first official visit to the [ … ]
Ecuador Fights Back Against Organized Crime
The government of Ecuador is intensifying its fight against the financial structures of organized crime through a specialized financial crime investigation unit, Argentine news site Infobae reported. This unit will pursue those involved in tax and customs fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. “This initiative makes it possible to target [ … ]
Brazil and Paraguay Join Forces Against Organized Crime
The armed forces of Brazil and Paraguay, with the support of police and judicial agents, joined forces in their fight against organized crime, seizing more than 6 tons of marijuana, confiscating weapons, and destroying 33 narco camps in February, authorities from both countries said in statements. These results were achieved [ … ]