In the midst of bloody disputes between local gangs in cahoots with large international mafias, Ecuador is positioning itself as a hub for cocaine trafficking to the United States and Europe, the Ecuadorian daily El Tiempo reported. “The boom in violence in Ecuador converges with the impact of COVID-19, the [ … ]
News
El Salvador Deploys Security Forces to Contain Criminal Groups
The government of El Salvador has activated phase five of its Territorial Control Plan security strategy, called Extraction, deploying police and military forces to surround cities and contain gang activity. “In the first place, we must understand that the extraction phase implies an earlier intelligence phase to go to specific [ … ]
CENTCOM Forces Intercept More Than 2,000 Assault Rifles Shipped from Iran
On Jan. 6, U.S. Central Command forces intercepted a stateless dhow in the Gulf of Oman smuggling more than 2,000 AK-47 assault rifles while transiting international waters from Iran to Yemen. The vessel was sailing on a route historically used to traffic weapons to the Houthis in Yemen. A team [ … ]
Peru Battles Colombian Armed Groups in Border Area
Peruvian law enforcement agencies are working to monitor, act, and dismantle dissident groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), present along the Peruvian border area, Peruvian Navy Admiral Jorge Moscoso Flores, former head of the Peruvian Armed Forces’ Joint Command, told Diálogo on December 18, 2022. In November, [ … ]
Honduras Declares State of Emergency to Combat Gangs
The Honduran government has launched the National Integral Plan against Extortion and Related Crimes, declaring a state of emergency and announcing the deployment of security forces to combat crime, extortion, and narcotrafficking carried out by gangs and other criminal organizations. “This measure is necessary and timely to detain crime perpetrators [ … ]
Women, Peace, Security: More Than Just Words on Paper
Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) is a policy that recognizes women as a critical component to achieve sustainable international peace and security. “This policy directly empowers women to impact their organizations and make a difference in the world,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Ana Mendiola, 571st Mobility Support Advisory [ … ]
Nicaragua and Russia Sign Nuclear Energy Use Agreement
The Nicaraguan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) signed a roadmap for the peaceful use of nuclear energy during the 12th International Atomexpo Forum, an event of the world nuclear industry held in the Russian city of Sochi, Nicaraguan daily La Prensa reported. "Nicaragua [ … ]
More Protection Measures for New Endangered Species
The 184 member countries of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) that participated in the 19th edition of the Conference of the Parties (COP19), held in November in Panama, agreed to tighten protection standards for new species of wild fauna and flora [ … ]
Cuba and Russia Strengthen Strategic Partnership
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Cuban counterpart Miguel Díaz-Canel met on November 22, 2022 in Moscow to strengthen their political and commercial relations, Colombian daily El Tiempo reported. “Cuba is Russia’s main operator in the Americas,” Carlos Sánchez Berzaín, director of the Miami think tank Inter-American Institute for Democracy [ … ]
Chile’s Exponaval Brings Together 35 countries
The Latin American international maritime defense exhibition and congress ExpoNaval 2022 was held in the Port of Valparaíso, Chile, November 29-December 2, 2022. The event, one of the largest gatherings of the naval and defense industry in Latin America, featured a program focused on naval and maritime innovation and development. [ … ]
US and Chile Resume Airmen-to-Airmen Talks
U.S. Air Forces Southern/12th Air Force (AFSOUTH), the air force component of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), held a new edition of the Airmen-to-Airmen Talks at the Chilean Air Force (FACh) headquarters in Santiago. During the talks, service members discussed the events held during fiscal year 2022 and made progress on [ … ]
ALCOPAZ Member Countries Address Environment in Peacekeeping Operations
Members of the Latin American Association of Training Centers for Peacekeeping Operations (ALCOPAZ) gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the 14th Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly. ALCOPAZ was founded in 2008, with more than 20 countries representing regional training centers for peacekeeping missions, under the coordination of the United [ … ]