Get the latest security and defense stories from across the Americas.
“Improvisation never succeeds” could sum up the Caribbean Basin Coastal Surveillance and Maritime Security Summit (CABSEC) and the South American Security Summit (SAMSEC) 2022. Rear Admiral Exón Ascencio, deputy chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Salvadoran Armed Forces, made the statement during his presentation at the event held November 8-9, in Doral, Florida, referring to the fight…
Sonia Waldikia González Barahona, 39, waited more than a year for a surgery after she was diagnosed with an incarcerated umbilical hernia. Swollen belly, sharp abdominal pain, fever, and vomiting were part of her daily symptoms. As her pain increased, Sonia, a mother of three, had to quit her housekeeping job. After months of waiting, her surgery was cancelled because…
Fishing communities along South America’s west coast face threats from illegal fishing, climate change, and pollution. “There are fewer fish, and we must go out to sea for days to find fish,” said Ricardo Laos, president of the José Silverio Olaya Balandra Association of Artisanal Fishermen of Caleta de Chorrillos in Peru. “That creates economic problems for us. Many of…
For the first time, U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), sailing toward Latin America and the Caribbean as part of U.S. Southern Command- (SOUTHCOM) sponsored humanitarian mission Continuing Promise 2022, is breaking down gender barriers by expanding the perspective on traditional security and health issues. The current mission is engaging with the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Initiative…
For 25 years, the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies has been seeking to establish ties of cooperation among the different countries of Latin America, creating a network of professionals who are leaders in security and defense in the hemisphere, and able to offer shared solutions to contemporary challenges. This is one of the reasons the center offers…
Arkansas Air National Guard members worked alongside U.S. and foreign military forces, government officials, and civilian personnel to provide humanitarian assistance through medical care in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, from October 26-31, 2022, during Continuing Promise 2022. Senior Airman Tabari Matthews, 189th dental technician, assisted Canadian Army Captain Cleve Kim, dentist, in the planning for treatment of 35 recipients on October…
A mission that will change people’s lives was the general sentiment of military, local, and international leaders as the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort arrived at the Port of Miami on October 23, on its last stateside port of call before setting sails toward Latin America and the Caribbean as part of U.S. Southern Command- (SOUTHCOM) sponsored humanitarian mission…
The Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua exhibited prisoners of conscience in “informative hearings” at the Managua Judicial Complex between August 30 and September 1. The regime-run media broadcast the proceedings, branding the prisoners as “terrorists, coup plotters, and homeland traitors,” pointing out that most of them supported in one way or another the massive social protests of 2018. With these appearances,…
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay approved bringing about greater synergy to position Latin America more prominently within the Antarctic Treaty System, during the 33rd Meeting of Latin American Antarctic Program Administrators (RAPAL), in Quito, Ecuador, August 23-26. Colombia, Venezuela, and Costa Rica attended as observers, the Chilean Joint Chiefs of Staff indicated. “We need to unify the proposals…
The U.S. Air Force deployed four B-52H Stratofortress aircraft to the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) theater August 18-September 21, 2022 to conduct Bomber Task Force (BTF) missions with key allies and partners. The strategic bombers are assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base (AFB), North Dakota. The aircraft operated out of Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford,…
It was during a key leader engagement at Up Park Camp in Kingston, between Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Brigadier Markland Lloyd, Force executive officer (FXO), and Brigadier General Hernando Garzon Rey, U.S. Army South (ARSOUTH) deputy commanding general for Interoperability, that the future of the JDF’s humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HA/DR) operational needs were outlined, training gaps identified, and…
The southernmost tip of the Americas was the scene of the 22nd edition of the combined naval exercise Viekaren, which brought together the Chilean and Argentine navies in Ushuaia, capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, known as the end of the world. “The proximity of Ushuaia and Puerto Williams [Chile], within an area of operations subjected to…
