The Dangers of China’s Influence in the Cloud
Chinese cloud computing companies, such as Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu, have been making inroads in many parts of the world, including Latin America, raising national security and data privacy concerns. Chinese firms’ growth in cloud business impact many critical areas such as 5G, artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and [ … ]
Ameripol Strengthened Against Transnational Crime
Authorities from several Latin American nations signed the treaty for the constitution of the Police Community of the Americas (Ameripol) in Brasilia, Brazil. This document, known as the Treaty of Brasilia, consolidates the Community as a regional police organization to strengthen cooperation and information exchange between the police and security [ … ]
Prison Interventions in Venezuela: Theatricality and Disinformation
The most important milestone in terms of citizen security in 2023 for Venezuela began on September 20, with the intervention of police and military forces in the Torocón Judicial Prison, in the state of Aragua. According to InSight Crime, an organization that studies organized crime in Latin America, this prison [ … ]
Cuba’s Military Reserve Serves as ‘Cannon Fodder’ for Russia
The Cuban regime recruits hundreds of youth between the ages of 17 and 28 for compulsory military service. In a recent report, Global Americans, a think tank that specializes in human rights and democracy in the Western Hemisphere, indicated that this reserve of military-trained men serves as “cannon fodder for [ … ]
Brazilian Government Strengthens Fight Against Organized Crime
In early November 2023, the Brazilian government launched a Decree to Guarantee Law and Order (GLO), to reinforce actions to combat organized crime. The plan includes the strengthening and joining of the Federal, Highway, and Criminal Police; and the Armed Forces (Army, Air Force, and Navy), to expand operations at [ … ]
SOUTHCOM Commander Visits Paraguay, Meets with Senior Defense Leaders
U.S. Army General Laura J. Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), visited Paraguay December 11-14, and met with President Santiago Peña and other senior leaders to discuss the United States’ longstanding defense partnership with the Paraguayan Armed Forces. Gen. Richardson’s trip to Paraguay was her first as SOUTHCOM commander. [ … ]
Ecuador and Peru Lead Fight Against IUU Fishing in the Region
Ecuador and Peru are leading the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing that the Chinese fishing fleet carries out year round in Latin America, British newspaper The Economist reported in late 2023. IUU fishing has decimated fish stocks globally over the last decade. The crime ranks as the [ … ]
Iran’s Disinformation Penetrates Latin America
The Iranian regime’s Spanish language news channel HispanTV, which portrays terrorism as “resistance” and is actively involved in incitement and disinformation campaigns in Latin America raises concern, U.S.-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) indicated in a late 2023 report. “Tehran maintains an international propaganda and disinformation campaign, [ … ]
China Contributes to Unsustainable Debt in Poorer Nations
China’s lending has shifted from the Belt and Road Initiative to emergency bailouts, a new report by the AidData Research Institute at the University of William and Mary in the United States, indicated. After lending more than $1.3 trillion to developing countries to build infrastructure projects, it now concentrates on [ … ]
Colombian Military Forces Deal Heavy Blows to Clan del Golfo
Captures, combats, and seizures of drugs, laboratories, and weapons are some of the successes of the Colombian Military Forces against the organized armed group Clan del Golfo organized armed group. These results have been achieved within the framework of the Ayacucho Joint Strategic Plan, which addresses security problems differentially by [ … ]
Brazil Expels Illegal Miners from Indigenous Lands
Nine months after launching a major operation to dismantle extensive illegal gold mining activities in the Yanomami indigenous lands of the Amazon, the Brazilian government has achieved great success with a reduction of almost 80 percent of the territories affected by the illegal activity, the Brazilian Ministry of Defense said [ … ]
Investigation Lays Out Deep Involvement of Maduro Regime in Drug Trade
The latest transnational journalistic investigation, led by the international investigative journalism organization Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), in partnership with the Latin American Center of Investigative Journalism (CLIP) and various other Latin American organizations, highlights the deep involvement of the Venezuelan regime and its military in the drug [ … ]