Russian Disinformation Advances in Latin America
Russian disinformation campaigns are spreading in Latin America, raising concerns about regional stability, and urging for a thorough evaluation of recent events that indicate a growing Russian presence in the information and geopolitical sphere, Spanish news site El Periódico reported. The Kremlin is leading efforts to exert influence in the [ … ]
The Threat of Foreign State Sponsored Cyberattacks in Brazil
In recent years, hacking into technological systems and databases hosted in a virtual environment has become an increasingly recurrent strategy to obtain confidential data. State sponsor actors are the leading cause of cyber concerns, with China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea sponsoring 77 percent of all suspected operations worldwide since [ … ]
Peru Requests US Support to Combat Narcotrafficking
Peru has formally requested support from the United States to develop a plan to combat drug trafficking. The strategy would focus on reducing coca cultivation, cocaine production, and eventual export, while the country intensifies security measures at its borders. Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier González-Olaechea formalized the request in December 2023 [ … ]
Organized Crime Advances in Amazon Basin
As organized crime advances in the Amazon basin in search of land to plant coca, riverine routes for narcotrafficking, and alluvial gold, the rainforest and the security of the region’s communities and defenders are threatened, international nongovernmental organization (NGO) Crisis Group said in a recent report. The late 2023 report [ … ]
Brazil and Paraguay Dismantle International Arms Trafficking Network
The Brazilian Federal Police (PF) and Paraguay’s National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) dismantled a network trafficking firearms from Europe to South America. “We’re talking about more than 40,000 weapons imported in the last three years,” Brazil’s Minister of Justice and Public Security Flávio Dino said at a press conference. Through Operation [ … ]
Warning Risks of Chinese Technology in Colombia
A recent report on the presence of technology companies from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Colombia has set off alarms about the risks involved with the Asian country’s investments in the sector. According to the Colombian political risk consultancy Colombia Risk Analysis, behind these investments are strategic interests [ … ]
China Human Rights Record Comes Under UN Scrutiny
China’s human rights record was the focus of intense scrutiny January 23 by the United Nations (U.N.) Human Rights Council, where Beijing faced criticism from Western democratic societies over its treatment of Uyghurs, Tibetans, and dissidents in Hong Kong. The meeting marked the fourth time that China’s rights record has [ … ]
Experts Warn about Risks of Rapprochement Between Brazil’s Workers Party and CCP
The Chinese Communist Party of China (CCP) and Brazil’s Workers Party (PT) have committed to deepen ties of friendship and strengthen cooperation. The agreement came to be during A CCP delegation’s visit to Brazil in September 2023, during which time both parties pledged to “uphold the principles of independence and [ … ]
China’s Rapacious Port Expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean
SOUTHCOM Commander, US Delegation Visit Stresses Commitment to Ecuador’s Security
U.S. Army General Laura J. Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), was part of a U.S. delegation that visited Ecuador, January 22-26, to explore with Ecuadorian counterparts ways to work together more effectively to counter the threat posed by transnational criminal organizations. During its week-long visit, the delegation, led [ … ]
Haiti Homicides Doubled in 2023 UN Warns
Nearly 5,000 homicides were accounted for in Haiti in 2023, more than in 2022, a January 23 United Nations (U.N.) report said, as the country experiences rampant gang violence amid the collapse of many of its political institutions. “I am appalled by the staggering and increasing level of gang violence [ … ]