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The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is abandoning spent rocket bodies in orbit at an unprecedented pace, increasing the potential for explosions and collisions and creating risk for all commercial, civil, and military space operators, according to a new report. The findings come despite Beijing’s agreement to follow international guidelines that call for deorbiting rocket bodies after they deploy their payloads…
Summary: On September 10, the Office of Public Prosecutions of the Brazilian state of São Paulo launched Operation Frankmobile. The target: a vast criminal network engaged in theft of thousands of mobile phones, extraction of personal information from the devices for the purpose of defrauding their owners, technical alteration of the stolen goods, and their resale as new phones. The…
This article was originally published in U.S. Africa Command’s Magazine ADF, on May 7, 2026. When Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) extremists launched four simultaneous deadly attacks against Nigerian military forces in late October 2025, armed drones played a key role. The attacks on positions in the communities of Dikwa, Gajibo, Mafa, and Katarko killed five soldiers and burned…
This article was originally published on U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s Magazine Forum, on August 3, 2026. China and Russia are expanding cooperation on space capabilities to degrade, disrupt or destroy military satellites as well as commercial constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink. Beijing and Moscow are sharing expertise, coordinating policies and investing in counterspace options that go beyond traditional anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles.…
This article was originally published in U.S. Northern Command’s Magazine The Watch, on July 2, 2026. Latin America’s transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) have been diversifying, finding new ways to make money in addition to producing, selling, and transporting illicit drugs. The many tentacles of their businesses extend to human trafficking and migration; illegal logging, fishing and gold mining; protection rackets;…
This article was originally published by U.S. Africa Command magazine, Africa Defense Forum (ADF), on July 28, 2026. China has refused to sign an agreement meant to improve efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Beijing commands the world’s largest distant-water fishing fleet and is the world’s worst illegal fishing offender, according to the IUU Fishing Risk Index.…
The rapid expansion of Brazil’s major criminal organizations — particularly the recently U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (Red Command) — is driving them to collaborate with actors linked to Middle Eastern terrorism, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Fueled by billions of dollars in proceeds from drug trafficking and other illicit activities, these groups increasingly rely…
Hurricanes devastate Caribbean islands, earthquakes destroy infrastructure across multiple countries, and volcanoes spew lava, isolating mountain towns from the rest of the country. These disasters often exceed a nation’s capacity to rescue and care for its affected citizens. When that happens, nations typically turn to national and international civilian organizations, such as the United Nations. However, when those organizations cannot…
This article was originally published on the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s Magazine Forum, on February 2, 2026. Beijing has denied since launching One Belt, One Road (OBOR) in 2013 that the infrastructure scheme is a tool for expanding geopolitical influence. Instead, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims that OBOR is a global development platform aimed at inclusive, multilateral cooperation and common…
This article was originally published on FORUM, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command magazine, on March 12, 2026. The synthetic drug trade, spearheaded by fentanyl and methamphetamine, has metastasized from a criminal enterprise into a complex geopolitical phenomenon, demanding an expansive, multidimensional international response. This global crisis hinges on the ready supply of precursor chemicals — primarily from China — driving two…
This article was originally published on the U.S. Africa Command’s Magazine ADF, on November 6, 2025. Africa loses an estimated $11.2 billion in annual revenue to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The challenge is particularly acute in West Africa, which loses up to $9.4 billion to the scourge. Illegal fishing by foreign industrial and semi-industrial trawlers, particularly from China,…
This article was originally published on U.S. Africa Command magazine ADF, on March 11, 2026. As foreign powers sign business deals and deepen diplomatic ties in Africa, one foreign player operates mostly behind the scenes: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). “The IRGC, the regime’s military-intelligence empire, has spent 40 years constructing a shadow network across Africa, embedding itself…
