Diálogo interview with Brigadier General Steven Ortega, Belize Defence Force commander, during the Central American Security Conference 2021 in Panama City, June 22-23. Diálogo: What are Belize’s most important security concerns? Brigadier General Steven Ortega, Belize Defence Force commander: Transnational crime is a concern, as we’ve been discovering that there’s [ … ]
Colombia Creates Command to Counter FARC Dissidents
Colombian Minister of Defense Diego Molano announced the creation of the Norte de Santander Specific Command, on July 24, 2021, at the Brigade 30 headquarters in Cúcuta. Consisting of 14,000 service members from the Army, the command’s objective is to dismantle Front 33, a dissident group of the Revolutionary Armed [ … ]
New Chilean Army Special Operations Command Put to the Test
In late June and early July, the Chilean Army carried out Exercise Teifún 2021 to monitor the integration capabilities of its special brigades that make up the institution’s new Special Operations Command (COPE, in Spanish). The 12-day exercise took place with participation from 400 COPE personnel, as well as a [ … ]
Ecuadorian Navy Monitors Fishing Fleet Approaching Galápagos
Hundreds of Chinese-flagged ships have been approaching the Galápagos Island’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), raising alarms among the Ecuadorian government and international marine conservation organizations. In late June and early July, more than 100 Chinese-flagged vessels crossed from the Atlantic to the Pacific to join an extensive fleet that was [ … ]
SENAFRONT Carries Out 2 Largest Drug Seizures in Its History
From April to June 2021, the Panamanian National Border Service (SENAFRONT, in Spanish) carried out the two largest drug seizures in its history, with almost 5,000 kilograms of drugs seized (marijuana and cocaine), Commissioner Oriel Ortega Benítez, SENAFRONT general director, told Diálogo. SENAFRONT’s Special Boat Unit (UBE, in Spanish) carried [ … ]
US Space Command Agrees to Share Data, Services
U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) and the Libre Space Foundation, a Greece-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) that promotes open access to space information, signed a space data sharing agreement on July 1, 2021. The agreement will enhance the safety of global space flight operations, SPACECOM said in a statement. “Our space systems [ … ]
Colombian Navy Deals Blow to FARC Dissidents
In late June, the Colombian Navy dealt a blow to dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, in Spanish) on the Pacific coast of the Nariño department. Authorities destroyed two cocaine processing labs and seized illicit drugs, as well as solid and liquid chemical precursors used to manufacture [ … ]
The Reinforcing Activities of the ELN in Colombia and Venezuela
In the past five years, a confluence of events in Colombia and Venezuela have empowered the National Liberation Army (ELN) to become a far more dangerous and intractable threat to both countries, and the region. The reinforcing effects of the partial demobilization the rival Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC),1 [ … ]
Air Advisors Strengthen Partnership, Advance Capabilities in Jamaica
The U.S. Air Force’s 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron (571st MSAS) successfully conducted a Mobile Training Team (MTT) engagement with the Jamaican Defense Force Air Wing (JDF-AW) at Up Park Camp and the Caribbean Military Aviation School, in Kingston, Jamaica, June 10-22, 2021. U.S. Air Force air advisors, like those [ … ]
Costa Rica Confronts Security Problems
Costa Rican Minister of Public Security Michael Soto Rojas took part in the Central American Security Conference 2021 in Panama City, on June 22-23. Diálogo spoke with Minister Soto about Costa Rica’s role in the fight against narcotrafficking. Diálogo: What is Costa Rica’s main security problem? Costa Rican Minister of [ … ]
Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing in the Pacific
KOROR, Palau – Task Force Oceania’s Pacific augmentation teams recently completed their first rotational tours providing continuous support to Pacific island countries in Oceania demonstrating U.S. Army Pacific and U.S. IndoPacific Command’s commitment to our allies and partners in the region. And while the U.S. Department of Defense is committed [ … ]
DOD Announces AI Competition to Detect, Defeat Illegal Fishing
The U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and Global Fishing Watch (GFW), a nonprofit that uses satellites to provide a view of global fishing activities, announced July 22 a new xView3 Challenge to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The xView3 is a competition with a $150,000 [ … ]