With 32 years of military service, Chilean Navy Captain Guillermo Ceballos is one of the 11 partner nation military advisors (PNMA) at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). Capt. Ceballos is a marine corps specialist and a native of San Fernando city, in the Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins region of Chile. He [ … ]
Members of the Largest Brazilian Narcotrafficking Faction Arrested at the Border with Paraguay
The First Capital Command (PCC, in Portuguese), the largest drug and arms trafficking group in Brazil, lost one of its leaders who operated along the border with Paraguay. In the evening of March 23, 2021, 14 members of the PCC were arrested in Pedro Juan Caballero, a Paraguayan city adjacent [ … ]
Colombia Strikes Clan del Golfo Structures
The military siege against leaders of criminal groups in Colombia continues to show positive results. Structures of the Clan del Golfo have suffered major blows. On March 24, 2021, Colombian Minister of Defense Diego Molano announced simultaneous operations that led to the capture of 25 Clan del Golfo members in [ … ]
US Donates 3 Hospitals, 2 Mobile Operations Centers to Dominican Republic
On April 20, the U.S. government, through U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), announced the donation of three mobile hospitals and two mobile operations centers, among other items, to boost the Dominican Republic government’s capability to quickly deploy personnel and medical equipment, and to care for those in need of emergency assistance [ … ]
Paraguay: Agents Dismantle Organization that Trafficked Cocaine to Brazil
On March 17, during Operation Olympus (Operación Olimpo), agents of the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) intercepted a truck carrying 574.8 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a false-bottom. The operation occurred at the Carmelo Peralta crossing in Alto Paraguay department, 700 kilometers from Asunción, in the region known [ … ]
Colombia Interdicts More than 19 Tons of Drugs in 3 Weeks
Colombian law enforcement agencies dealt a significant blow to narcotrafficking organizations by intercepting 19,249 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride and marijuana in different operations between March 16 and April 5, 2021. On April 5, the Colombian Military Forces’ General Command (CGFM, in Spanish) announced the seizure of 1,085 kg of marijuana [ … ]
Peru Destroys Narco Airstrips in Indigenous Communities
The increase in drug production in Peru, especially in the Ucayali region, is noticeable due to the increase in clandestine airstrips that narcotraffickers use. To date, authorities have found 46 clandestine airstrips in forests; many of them are located on indigenous community lands, the Ucayali regional government’s Regional Forestry and [ … ]
US Marine Take Part in Exchange in Brazil
U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Major Felipe A. Bayona is an exchange officer in the Brazilian Marine Corps (CFN, in Portuguese). The U.S. officer arrived in Brazil in August 2020 and is expected to remain with Brazilian service members until July 2023. A combat engineer officer, Maj. Bayona conducted operations in [ … ]
Brazil Increases Seizures by 38 percent at Border with Bolivia and Peru
Acre, one of the Brazilian states located in the Amazon region, counts with the support of a Special Border Group (GEFRON, in Portuguese) since September 2019. Neighbor to Bolivia and Peru, the state struggles to combat drug and arms trafficking throughout its extensive border region. Acre Military Police Colonel Antônio [ … ]
Colombia Police, Military Raid Illegal Gold Mining Operation
From the air, the illegal gold mines look like wounds in the dense jungle of southern Colombia — scars of red, gray, and brown dirt surrounding toxic ponds. The sound of the police and military choppers lunging in over the hills sends most of the miners below fleeing into the [ … ]
JTF-Bravo Donates Foggers to Fight Dengue in La Paz, Honduras
U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-Bravo), in coordination with the Security Cooperation Office at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, donated 15 thermal foggers with maintenance kits to fight dengue in the department of La Paz, Honduras, April 15, 2021. The thermal foggers, ideal for insect control, were [ … ]
South American Countries Seize 200,000 Illegal Weapons during Interpol Operation
South American countries came together against international arms trafficking during Operation Trigger VI, coordinated by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, March 8-28. “The operation led to the arrest of nearly 4,000 suspects in all 13 South American countries, with the [ … ]