The U.S. Navy Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) and the Dominican Navy conducted a bilateral interdiction exercise in the Caribbean Sea, May 23. During the exercise, forces worked together to find, track, and intercept a simulated drug smuggling vessel, and practiced a series of tactical shipboard [ … ]
Resolute Sentinel 21 Concludes in El Salvador for JTF-Bravo Medical Personnel
U.S. service members with Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-Bravo), Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, concluded Resolute Sentinel 2021, a two-week long medical readiness exercise, May 22. Approximately 65 service members deployed to El Salvador to provide joint training and improved readiness of U.S. and partner nation civil engineers, medical professionals, [ … ]
Key South American Partners Participate in Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium
U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific hosted the annual Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium (PALS) event, recognized as the premier Pacific maritime symposium, held virtually on May 19. The event is designed to bring together a community of like-minded amphibious force leaders with focus and equities in the Indo-Pacific region. Twenty-five nations [ … ]
US Supports Prosperity in the Western Hemisphere
The United States stands with partner nations and civil society to ensure the Western Hemisphere remains free and democratic. “The Western Hemisphere is our home,” U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said on May 4 during the virtual 51st Washington Conference on the Americas. “And because it is our home, because the people within [ … ]
China’s Global Predatory Fishing Plunders World’s Oceans
More than 100 miles from shore, near the coast of West Africa, I accompanied marine police officers from Gambia as they arrested 15 foreign ships for labor violations and illegal fishing over the course of a week in 2019. All but one of the vessels arrested were from China. At [ … ]
USASAC Sees Colombian Capabilities Firsthand
Brigadier General Douglas Lowrey, commander of the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command (USASAC), and six staff members, traveled to Colombia to engage in one of the most wide-sweeping key leader engagements for the USASAC team since the pandemic hit in early 2020. Understanding the high priority of Colombian military capabilities [ … ]
Pakistani National Indicted and Sanctioned for Human Smuggling Conspiracy
[caption id="attachment_46694" align="alignright" width="168"] Abid Ali Khan was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly organizing and leading an international human smuggling organization. (Photo: U.S. Department of Justice)[/caption] On April 7, a federal grand jury in Virginia indicted a Pakistani citizen for allegedly leading a scheme to smuggle undocumented [ … ]
Resolute Sentinel 21: Medics arrive in Honduras
U.S. Air Force and Army medics arrived in Choluteca, Honduras, May 12, to assist the local hospital with urologic surgeries during Resolute Sentinel 21. Resolute Sentinel 21 provides joint training and improved readiness for U.S. civil engineers, medical professionals, and support personnel through humanitarian assistance activities in Honduras. The U.S. [ … ]
U.S. Air Force Southern will lead U.S. Southern Command’s upcoming exercise in Guatemala
The United States 12th Air Force (Air Force Southern, or AFSOUTH) will be leading U.S. Southern Command’s upcoming exercise in Guatemala – this exercise will provide joint training and improve readiness of U.S. and Guatemalan civil engineers, medical professionals and support personnel in humanitarian assistance techniques from May until August [ … ]
Costa Rica Dismantles Narcotrafficking Gang, Seizes 5.5 Tons of Drugs
Costa Rican authorities obtained important results in their fight against crime by dismantling a gang engaged in narcotrafficking in the south of the country, on April 6, 2021. During the operation, authorities carried out 25 raids, including of a 25-hectare property. Authorities detained 12 people, including the organization’s leader, González [ … ]
Colombian Forces Seize 3.4 Tons of Drugs in Two Operations
In early April, the Colombian Military Forces thwarted the activities of criminal gangs Jaime Martínez and Comandos de Frontera, dissident groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, in Spanish), in two operations carried out in Valle del Cauca department and in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. On April [ … ]
Paraguay Destroys 346 Tons of Marijuana
In mid-April, Paraguay’s security forces dealt a severe blow to narcotrafficking in several operations, most taking place at the border with Brazil. Authorities destroyed nearly 346 tons of marijuana, including illegal crops and ready-to-consume drugs, the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) said in several statements. On April 22, [ … ]