With transnational criminal organizations trafficking drugs, guns, and people in South and Central America, and China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba meddling and peddling influence in the region, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has its hands full working to keep the neighborhood safe. Increased intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capacity and a [ … ]
The Work of a Female Soldier Following the Hurricanes in Guatemala
The first contact Lesvia Leticia Gallardo Morales had with the Guatemalan Armed Forces was when she first saw soldiers patrolling near her house. The then 5-year-old turned to her mother and said, “When I grow up, I want to be a soldier.” Throughout the years, she kept reminding her mother, [ … ]
USS Wichita and Jamaican Forces Conduct Live-Fire Exercise
The U.S. Navy Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Wichita (LCS 13) and Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel HMJS Cornwall conducted a live-fire exercise in the Caribbean Sea, April 9. Gunners from both ships shot hundreds of rounds at a floating training target. Formally known as a naval [ … ]
Brazilian Generals Change Command at MONUSCO
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO, in French) will soon have a new commander — another Brazilian. On April 8, 2021, Brazilian Army (EB, in Portuguese) Lieutenant General Marcos de Sá Affonso da Costa was appointed to replace EB Major General Ricardo [ … ]
Guatemala Receives 4 Ships to Intercept Narcotrafficking
The U.S. government, through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency’s (CBP) Air and Maritime Operations and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, donated four Midnight Express Interceptor vessels to the Guatemalan Naval Special Force Command, the CBP reported on April 9, 2021. [caption [ … ]
Colombian Army Seizes Nearly 6 Tons of Coltan
The Colombian Army seized nearly 6 tons of black sand with coltan on the Guaviare River, Guainía department, at the border with Venezuela, on March 14, 2021. Service members attributed the shipment to a dissident group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, in Spanish), led by alias Gentil [ … ]
JTF-Bravo Continues to Support Honduran Communities Devastated by Hurricanes Eta and Iota
U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-Bravo) continues to support the Honduran communities that are still suffering the effects of hurricanes Eta and Iota, which struck the country in November 2020. In early April, this aid shifted to reconstruction efforts. “Speaking directly to the experience of the JTF-Bravo [ … ]
Colombia, Peru, US Conduct Anti-submarine Warfare Exercise
In Caribbean international waters, the Peruvian Navy submarine BAP Pisagua seeks to approach enemy surface vessels without being detected, ready to attack. Meanwhile, in the sky, air units patrol the area to locate the submarine and send the information to the vessels so that they can destroy it first — [ … ]
Eight Individuals Indicted for Transnational Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering, and Financial Crimes
A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas (EDTX) has returned an indictment charging eight individuals with various federal violations related to a complex international drug trafficking conspiracy, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei on February 26. Debbie Mercer, 58, and Kayleigh Moffett, 33, both of Oklahoma [ … ]
Navy Seizes Venezuelan Vessel Illegally Fishing off the Coast of Amapá State
On April 13, 2021, the Brazilian Navy Patrol Vessel (NPa, in Portuguese) Guanabara, under the Northern Naval Patrol Group Command, intercepted a Venezuelan-flagged vessel, which was fishing illegally in Brazilian jurisdictional waters, off the coast of Amapá state. [caption id="attachment_45950" align="aligncenter" width="339"] The 14 crew members of the Venezuelan vessel [ … ]
‘Narcotrafficking Is Taking Over’ Venezuela with Maduro’s Complicity, Colombia Says
On April 3, Colombian Minister of Defense Diego Molano accused Venezuela of acting as an “accomplice” of Colombian narcotrafficking groups in heavy confrontations that have forced thousands of people to cross the border and take refuge in Colombia. “What is happening in Venezuela is that narcotrafficking is slowly taking over [ … ]
Colombia Announces First Extraditions of ELN Guerrillas to the US
On March 30, Colombia shared a list of 11 alleged National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas it intends to extradite to the United States for the first time for narcotrafficking. “This is the first time in Colombia’s history that an ELN member is being extradited to the United States for causes [ … ]