Get the latest security and defense stories from across the Americas.
Transnational Crime On October 23, agents of the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) intercepted a truck carrying 10,039 kilograms of marijuana hidden in 449 packages. Authorities seized the drug in the town of Pirapó, Itapúa department, located about 7 kilometers from Ruta 6, a road that connects the cities of Encarnación and Ciudad del Este, in the Tri-border area. “The…
South America U.S. Army South concluded the first-ever virtual Senior Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) Integral Program (PISAJ) 14, which took place November 9-20, 2020. PISAJ is a U.S. Army South-hosted engagement between the U.S. and Colombian armies to further develop NCOs. This year, senior enlisted service members from Brazil and México were also invited to participate. “This is a great opportunity for Colombian…
Security & Cooperation When U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Caleb Lapinel showed up to attend Brazil’s Jungle Warfare Training School in September 2020, he met special forces soldiers from Spain, Egypt, and Indonesia; paratroopers from Paraguay; amphibious infantrymen from Nigeria, and a Kaibil special operator from Guatemala whose motto is: “ If I advance follow me, if I stop urge me on, if…
Security & Cooperation Despite the pandemic that has affected the global environment, U.S. Army South as the Army’s Executive Agent, has maintained its role of conducting bilateral staff talks with partner nations in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility to strengthen the command’s professional relationships and create training opportunities in the Western Hemisphere. Although the coronavirus has cancelled scheduled training and exercises…
Transnational Crime Guatemalan counternarcotics forces seized 1.5 tons of cocaine found in a crashed light airplane in the northern department of Petén, on the border with Mexico and Belize, the Office of the Attorney General (MP, in Spanish) reported on November 12. Authorities found the partially burned aircraft with several drug packages on November 11 in the Laguna del Tigre forest reserve,…
Transnational Crime In the last two weeks of October, Colombian authorities seized 4.5 tons of drugs and dismantled 63 cocaine hydrochloride processing labs, in six operations carried out in different parts of the country. On October 28, the Colombian Navy reported seizing 2,085 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride, 24 nautical miles northeast of Punta Arenas, Antioquia. Units of the Colombian Navy and the…
Transnational Crime On November 27, senior law enforcement officials from the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras announced criminal charges in Central America against more than 700 members of transnational criminal organizations, primarily MS-13 and 18th Street gangs, which resulted from a one-week coordinated law enforcement action under Operation Regional Shield (ORS). ORS began in 2017 and is a U.S. Department…
Transnational Crime The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) denounced in an October 15 press release that the Daniel Ortega regime in Nicaragua keeps at least 113 political prisoners and continues to systematically violate human rights. “We receive complaints from civil society actors, which obligate us to alert regional leaders and the international community in general. From them [the…
South America The Brazilian Armed Forces provided medical care to some 37,000 indigenous people in the state of Maranhão, which the Amazon Forest covers for the most part. The mission, known as Operation Maranhão, took place in three phases, between September and November, bringing together 24 service members in each phase — 12 doctors, three nurses, six nursing assistants, and three veterinarians.…
Transnational Crime A counternarcotics team of the Dominican National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD, in Spanish) and the Dominican Armed Forces seized more than 2 tons of cocaine in two operations. On November 7, troops of the Navy and the DNCD intercepted an artisanal vessel that was carrying 231 packages of cocaine off the coast of Azua province. The packages weighed about 238…
Transnational Crime On November 16, 2020, a 16-year criminal career came to an end for Emiliano Alcides Osorio, alias Caín, top leader of Los Caparros criminal group. Colombian authorities neutralized him after a confrontation in the town of La Unión, Tarazá municipality, Antioquia. The Colombian government was offering a $130,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts. “Alias Caín was wanted for…
Transnational Crime It doesn’t matter how many times you look at it: It’s always impressive to see 23,000 pounds of cocaine and nearly 8,800 pounds of marijuana. That’s the amount of drugs — with a street value of over $411 million, according to U.S. authorities — the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter James offloaded on December 16, at Port Everglades,…
