China Moves Forward in Argentina with Worrisome Works
China has been seeking to finance or build large infrastructure projects in Argentina to expand its influence in South America. A port, a nuclear power plant, a power station, and a radio telescope are among the projects announced. For experts, however, these works are cause for concern. “Being ‘partners’ with [ … ]
Colombia Dismantles Narcotrafficking Groups
The Colombian Navy dealt hard blows to organizations linked to international narcotrafficking cartels through its Red Naval Plus strategy, in coordination with the Attorney General’s Office. As of August 29, the Pacific and Caribbean Naval Forces had weakened nine narcotrafficking groups over the course of 2023. One of the latest [ … ]
Chinese State-owned Zijin Mining Under International Scrutiny
In a world where business activities are under constant global scrutiny, Zijin Mining, a Chinese state-owned company specializing in gold and lithium mining, stands out as a symbol of persistent concerns about its impact and operating practices in Latin America and beyond, Radio FM Bolivia reported. Its track record is [ … ]
Cartel of the Suns Expands Operations with ELN and Mexican cartels
Retired Major General Hugo Carvajal Barrios, alias El Pollo, Venezuela’s former director of Military Counterintelligence, was extradited on July 19 from Spain to New York, where he will be tried for what is described as a vast narcoterrorist conspiracy aimed at generating instability in the United States by attempting to [ … ]
Continuing Promise 2023 Mission Concludes
The Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship, USNS Burlington (T-EPF 10), completed its fourth and final stop of the Continuing Promise 2023 (CP23) mission in St. George’s, Grenada, September 23. The Burlington also visited Almirante, Panama, Santa Marta, Colombia, and Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, over the course of the [ … ]
Ecuador, Vigilant Against Crime
Drug trafficking is one of the greatest threats to Ecuador’s national security. To combat it, Ecuadorian Army Major General Nelson Proaño Rodríguez, head of the Armed Forces ‘Joint Command, designs strategies and carries out coordinated actions to confront crime. Maj. Gen. Proaño spoke with Diálogo about drug trafficking and the [ … ]
Triads, Snakeheads, and Flying Money: The Underworld of Chinese Criminal Networks in Latin America and the Caribbean
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) continue to grapple with some of the highest rates of violence and corruption in the world, particularly due to the corrosive presence of transnational criminal organizations (TCOs). Notorious regional TCOs continue to sell drugs worldwide, kill with impunity, bribe local officials, terrorize [ … ]
Amazon Countries Unite to Protect Rainforest
Eight amazon nations came together to bolster regional cooperation and protect the rainforest that they share, agreeing to a list of environmental policies and measures under a joint statement at a summit in Belem, Brazil. “Drug-related crimes are fundamentally linked to deforestation and associated environmental crimes. On the one hand, [ … ]
Maduro Smothers Venezuelan Universities
For a decade, Venezuela’s higher academia has been suffering from an institutional dismantling plan orchestrated by Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro for not bowing to his authoritarianism, Tulio Ramírez, a tenured Venezuelan professor at the Andrés Bello Catholic University, told international research platform The Conversation. “The essence of the plan of attack [ … ]
UN-Backed Climate Fund Suspends Funding to Nicaragua
The board of the United Nations’ (U.N.) Green Climate Fund (GCF) suspended disbursements for the project “BioCLIMA: Integrated Climate Action to Reduce Deforestation and Strengthen Resilience in Bosawás and Río San Juan Biospheres” in Nicaragua, due to “instances of policy non-compliance [...],” GCF reported. “One of the biggest mistakes of [ … ]
Mission Continuing Promise 2023 Benefits Thousands of Colombians
More than 40 doctors and engineers from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and the Colombian Military Forces came together in late August to carry out mission Continuing Promise 2023, which on this occasion benefited more than 11,000 people from the most vulnerable communities of the Caribbean coast of Colombia in the [ … ]
Argentina and Brazil Conduct Military Exercise Arandú
The Argentine and Brazilian armies carried out combined exercise Arandú, deploying 1,400 troops in the Argentine province of Corrientes to achieve greater interoperability between both armed forces, Argentina’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement. “Combined training in the field is key to practical learning because it plays a fundamental [ … ]
