Get the latest security and defense stories from across the Americas.
As Colombia consolidates its capabilities in the space domain, Colombian Aerospace Force Colonel Eliana Mallarino has been among the officers driving that process. As director of Space Capabilities of the Space Operations Command, she works to integrate space assets in support of security and defense operations, from monitoring illicit activities to responding to natural disasters. Throughout her career, she has…
Commercial ports across Latin America and the Caribbean have become one of the primary battlegrounds in the fight against transnational organized crime. In Ecuador, one of the clearest examples is Puerto Bolívar, a strategic hub for banana exports that has also emerged as one of the main departure points for cocaine shipments bound for Europe. To regain control, the Ecuadorian…
Venezuela is facing one of the greatest challenges in its recent history after two earthquakes measuring above magnitude 7 struck just seconds apart. As search-and-rescue operations continue, the disaster is testing not only a nation's ability to respond to a catastrophe of this scale but also how quickly regional and international partners can mobilize specialized teams, resources, and humanitarian assistance.…
Since May, Cuba has seen several protests over the country’s deepening energy crisis and the rolling blackouts that continue to disrupt daily life. Independent journalists have also reported repeated internet outages, even after electricity service has been restored. “The regime cuts communications,” journalist Mag Jorge Castro wrote on X, describing a “massive internet outage in Havana.” These incidents point to…
For years, the public image of Jamaica’s fraud problem has been dominated by one phrase: lottery scamming. But according to the Director General of Jamaica’s Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), Colonel (R.) Desmond Edwards, that characterization no longer reflects the scale, sophistication, or operational realities of the threat facing Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. “What we are confronting…
Created in 2004 to promote Chinese language instruction and cultural exchange, Confucius Institutes have become one of the most visible instruments of China’s soft power. In 2009, Li Changchun, then a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo, described them as “an important part of China's overseas propaganda apparatus.” In just over two decades, Confucius Institutes have expanded to…
With nearly three decades of service in the Dominican Air Force and extensive experience in joint operations, intelligence, and international cooperation, Brigadier General Jonás Reynoso Barrera, executive director of the National Antiterrorism Directorate (DNA), has played a key role in strengthening the country’s defense and security capabilities. His career includes serving as liaison officer to Joint Interagency Task Force South…
As Venezuela transitions from the search and rescue phase to the long process of recovery following the devastating June earthquake, one of the greatest challenges is no longer delivering aid but coordinating the reconstruction effort effectively. The scale of the disaster underscores the magnitude of the task. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimates direct physical damage at approximately $6.7…
