In January 5, 2021, the Colombian National Police, through the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol (DIJIN, in Spanish) and the Colombian Office of the Attorney General, arrested Guatemalan citizen Harol Orlando Saldaña Natareno, alias Pedro, identified as the liaison in Colombia for Central American and Mexican cartels,. Saldaña has [ … ]
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Chilean Police Attack Drug Production
Chile’s Investigations Police (PDI, in Spanish) started operations in 2021 attacking transnational criminal organizations and illicit drug production. Among other actions, it prevented the production of several tons of cocaine and destroyed marijuana plantations before the leaves could be harvested for sale. On January 18, the PDI reported on Twitter [ … ]
Paraguayan Anti-Drug Agents Conclude 2020 Dealing Blow to Narcotrafficking on Brazilian Border
The Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) concluded 2020 continuing its fight against narcotrafficking. Among the most relevant operations carried out on the border with Brazil in December are the destruction of about 13.5 tons of marijuana and the dismantling of two cocaine processing labs. In a statement published [ … ]
USS James E. Williams Conducts Passing Exercise with Colombian Navy
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) executed a passing exercise (PASSEX) with the Colombian Navy frigate ARC Antioquia (FM-53) February 15 while operating in the Caribbean Sea. PASSEXs provide opportunities for both navies to improve interoperability and demonstrate their ability to communicate, navigate, and operate [ … ]
Peru: Security Forces Eradicate More than 6,000 Hectares of Coca Crops in 2020
During 2020, the Special Project for Control and Reduction of Illegal Crops in Alto Huallaga (CORAH, in Spanish) eradicated 6,272.8 hectares of illegal coca crops, with support from the Peruvian National Police (PNP). Carlos León Romero, vice minister of Internal Order at the Peruvian Ministry of the Interior, presided over [ … ]
Brazil: Federal Police Dismantles International Narcotrafficking Groups
On January 20, 2021, the Brazilian Federal Police (PF, in Portuguese) arrested five members of a criminal group who were recruiting people to transport cocaine to Lebanon. Three other members of the group remain at large. The arrests occurred as part of Operation Overweight to combat international narcotrafficking. According to [ … ]
US Southern Command’s 12th Air Force Commander Meets FAP General Commander
Major General Barry R. Cornish, commander of U.S. Air Forces Southern/12th Air Force (AFSOUTH), the air component of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), met virtually with General Rodolfo Pereyra Cúneo, Peruvian Air Force (FAP, in Spanish) commander, on February 16. During the meeting, they discussed the Peruvian commander’s goals, SOUTHCOM’s strategic goals, [ … ]
Dominican Republic Seizes 1.7 Tons of Cocaine
The Dominican Republic seized 1,763 kilograms of cocaine in four operations from December 1-22, 2020, thanks to the coordination of the country’s National Drug Control Board (DNCD, in Spanish) and the Office of the Attorney General. [caption id="attachment_43776" align="alignleft" width="300"] Dominican officers unload 162 kg of cocaine that were intercepted [ … ]
US Donates Field Hospital to Maranhão State, Brazil
The United States, through the Department of Defense’s Southern Command, donated a structure to Maranhão state to set up a field hospital that will accommodate 40 beds, generators, and four ventilators. A delegation from the U.S. Department of Defense is in the state to train the Civil Defense team that [ … ]
US Donates 8 Ventilators to Chile
The United States, through U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)’s Humanitarian Assistance Program (HAP), donated eight Hamilton-T1 ventilators to Chile, valued at $133,000 in total, which will go to the Hanga Roa Hospital in Rapa Nui, the Padre Hurtado Hospital in San Ramón commune, the Talagante Hospital in the commune of the [ … ]
Panama, US Sign Memorandum of Understanding on Maritime Security
On February 10, the Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Panama Stewart Tuttle and the Panamanian Minister of Public Security Juan Pino signed a memorandum of understanding between both countries aimed at continuing U.S. assistance to Panamanian security forces that operate at sea, including equipment and technical training. [ … ]
US Urges Combining Efforts to Fight Narcotrafficking in Latin America
Drug trafficking has grown in Latin America, and Washington cannot fight alone against this scourge that threatens regional security, U.S. Navy Admiral Craig Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command, warned on December 10. “I see an increase in drug trafficking from Colombia to Venezuela and from nations across the Caribbean [ … ]