The growing electricity crisis in China, a result of the lack of coal and a high post-pandemic demand for energy, is forcing the rationing of electricity throughout the country, causing industries to close and threatening to derail China’s economic growth, an adverse scenario for Latin America. “It is the worst [ … ]
USAAAD, DPAA Join Forces, Conduct Live Hoist Rescue Training
Members of Joint Task Force Bravo’s (JTF-Bravo) U.S. Army Air Ambulance Detachment (USAAAD), 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment conducted live hoist and Skedco hoist training, October 11, 2021 in Santiago, Panama. The training was in support of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), which is working [ … ]
US Strengthens Fight against Narcotrafficking in Panama
On September 20, 2021, the U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation donated a maritime interdiction patrol boat to the Panamanian Ministry of Public Security (MINSEG, in Spanish) to strengthen the fight against narcotrafficking of the Panamanian National Air and Naval Service (SENAN, in Spanish) and the Regional Center for Aeronaval Operations [ … ]
Argentina Seizes 7.5 Tons of Marijuana, 2 Narco-aircraft
In five operations carried out September 21-October 3, 2021, the Argentine National Gendarmerie (GNA, in Spanish) and the Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA, in Spanish) seized 7,589 kilograms of marijuana and two aircraft that a criminal organization was using to transport cocaine among Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. On October 3, in [ … ]
Uruguay Disrupts International Narcotrafficking Organization
In late September, intelligence exchange between Uruguayan, Paraguayan, and Argentinean authorities dealt a blow to an international narcotrafficking organization based in Uruguay. The criminal group engaged in the transport of cocaine base paste in narco-aircraft from Paraguay to Uruguay, for later shipment to Europe, the Uruguayan Ministry of the Interior [ … ]
Panama’s Maritime Business and The Evolving Strategic Landscape
Panama’s maritime business is being transformed by the complex interaction between multiple factors. These include the growing economic and political power of China and US-China competition, the long-term structural impacts of Covid on both the region and global trade, US policies to contain immigration from the Northern Triangle, climate change, [ … ]
UNITAS 2021: Brothers in Arms
U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Luis A. Camacho, a light armored vehicle platoon sergeant, broadly smiles as he sees Peruvian Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Eric Chocano, commander of the tactical vehicles battalion. Good friends and comrades, the two greet with a hug. Staff Sgt. Camacho grew up in Chosica, Lima, [ … ]
Colombia Neutralizes 10 FARC Dissidents
An air strike by special commandos of the Colombian Military Forces neutralized 10 dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, in Spanish), in the Morichal municipality, Guainía department, near the border with Brazil, on September 27, 2021. “We dealt a tough blow to a leader, the second-in-command of [ … ]
China Threatens South American Oceans
A September 24, 2021 investigative feature published by the Associated Press (AP) and the Univisión network, whose team joined the research and patrol vessel Ocean Warrior of the Amsterdam-based environmental nongovernmental organization (NGO) Sea Shepherd Global, revealed that Chinese ships are increasing their presence in the Pacific waters off the [ … ]
JTF-Bravo Trains Guatemalan Service Members, Firefighters in Prehospital Combat Medicine
In early October, Guatemalan Army officers and civilian emergency personnel strengthened their knowledge in prehospital medicine by participating in a tactical combat casualty course (TCCC) taught by units of U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-Bravo). A total of 20 service members from the Guatemalan Army’s General Felipe Cruz [ … ]
The Caribbean Threat Environment: Reshaped by Climate Change and Great Power Competition
Fifty-two high ranking military, security forces personnel, and government officials from 10 nations gathered on October 14, 2021 for the first virtual Caribbean Region Information Operations Council (CRIOC) meeting under the theme “The Caribbean Threat Environment.” The William J. Perry Center co-hosted the event with U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), U.S. [ … ]
Women in the Colombian Army: Groundbreaking Standard-bearer
When she graduated with a Mass Communications degree (journalist) from the Externado University of Colombia in 1994, young Jhasmin Mora Cuellar knew exactly what she wanted to do in life. That’s why, two years later, she enrolled in the General José María Córdova Military Academy, where she graduated as a [ … ]