The regimes of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela strengthened their geopolitical alliance with Iran during a “friendly tour” of the Islamic country’s Foreign Minister Hosein Amir-Abdollahian. Experts, however, warn that Iran is an unreliable ally, which is alienated from the international community, and abuses its trade relationship with other nations to [ … ]
News
China Seeks to Control Strategic Minerals
Chinese companies have been expanding worldwide, seeking to extract the strategic minerals that fuel the clean energy revolution. Their sights are set on Latin America and its reserves of lithium, cobalt, copper, and rare earth elements. Between 2018 and 2023, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile received the top Chinese lithium investment, [ … ]
Artificial Intelligence, the Venezuelan Regime’s New Scam
The regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela has been spreading disinformation with artificial intelligence- (AI) generated newscasters, who only deliver news favorable to the regime, highlighting how the technology is used to further its narrative, Spanish daily El País reported. According to the report, based on a study by Venezuelan [ … ]
Partnerships, Key to Tackle Western Hemisphere’s Security Challenges
The Western Hemisphere is increasingly confronting security and stability challenges that must be addressed together, academia, government entities, military officials, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and private sector experts expressed at the 8th annual Hemispheric Security Conference (HSC), in Miami, Florida, May 2-3, 2023. Under the theme Partnerships in the Decisive Decade, [ … ]
Colombian Navy Leads Multinational Operations Against Narcotrafficking
The Colombian Navy dealt hard blows to narcotrafficking, leading several combined operations with forces from the region, which resulted in the seizure of more than 4 tons of cocaine hydrochloride on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and the Pacific coast of Colombia. The mid-March operations among the Colombian Navy, [ … ]
US Government Donates Container Clinics to Honduras
On April 12, the U.S. government through U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) Humanitarian Assistance Program (HAP) donated six fully equipped container clinics worth approximately $1 million to be distributed to three health centers affected by hurricanes Eta and Iota. In addition, SOUTHCOM recently approved three more clinics valued at $285,000, bringing [ … ]
Colombian Women Return to Military Service After More Than 20 Years
In early February, a group of 1,296 women voluntarily joined the Colombian Army to serve in the first call-up in more than 20 years. The group is the first contingent of women of the four planned for 2023, where 5,184 women will be able to serve in different military units [ … ]
UN Issues Appeals Due to ‘Armed Violence and Terror’ in Haiti
Increasing gang violence in Haiti prompted the United Nations (U.N.) on April 24 to issue an appeal in response to the crisis in Cité Soleil, one of the most populous settlements in the Caribbean nation, located west of Port-au-Prince, the capital. “The security and humanitarian situation in many areas of [ … ]
Guatemala Gets US Support to Combat Narcotrafficking
The International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) section of the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala provides support to strengthen the professional capabilities of Guatemala’s National Civil Police (PNC), to improve citizen security and to combat narcotrafficking and related transnational organized crimes. This partnership is key as one of Guatemala’s main challenges [ … ]
Venezuela and Iran Launch Direct Shipping Route
The launch of a direct shipping route between Iran and Venezuela is part of the agreements between Tehran and Caracas to circumvent U.S. sanctions imposed on both countries, Iran Front Page news site reported. Since February, when the shipping route was launched, two ships with “Iranian products” have arrived at [ … ]
Colombia on Track for Another Record Year for Cocaine Seizures
Colombian authorities have committed to seize the “largest amount of cocaine in history,” according to an early 2023 directive from the Colombian government to combat narcotrafficking, Spanish news site Notimerica reported. “There needs to be a [total] seizure that represents historic figures […],” said Colombian Defense Minister Iván Velásquez on [ … ]
Brazilian Navy Unveils New Armored Vehicles with Fanfare
On March 7, the Brazilian Marine Corps (CFN) celebrated its 215th anniversary with a military ceremony held at the São José Fortress on Ilha das Cobras. During the ceremony, the Brazilian Navy took the opportunity to present its newest armored vehicle, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), acquired from U.S. [ … ]