The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) will deploy to the U.S. Southern Command area of operations this fall as part of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet’s (USNAVSO/4THFLT) Continuing Promise 2022 mission. Detailed planning is currently underway for the Comfort to visit Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, [ … ]
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China: A Threat to the Environment and Human Rights in Latin America
The Collective on Chinese Financing and Investments, Human Rights and Environment (CICDHA), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that promotes social, environmental, political, and cultural rights in Latin America, examined some of China’s largest backed projects in Latin America and presented some conclusions on their environmental and human rights impact. “Things aren’t [ … ]
Brazilian Army Supports Inauguration of Ballistic Testing Laboratory
On August 5, the National Service for Industrial Learning Integrated Manufacturing and Technology Center (SENAI CIMATEC) inaugurated the first Ballistic Testing Laboratory in northern northeastern Brazil. The initiative has the support of the Brazilian Army, through the 6th Military Region, the Army Evaluation Center, and the Brazilian Armor Association. SENAI [ … ]
Undersea Cable Wars: Competition for control of networks brings long-term security risks to the surface
A labyrinth of more than 1.3 million kilometers of fiber-optic cables anchored to the sea floor carries about 95% of telephone and internet communications around the world every day, moving massive amounts of data every second. Everything from financial transactions to military orders passes along this underwater web of more [ … ]
Cocaine Trafficking Shifts to Brazil’s Smaller Ports, UN Report Says
The city of Santos in Brazil’s São Paulo state, which has the largest port in Latin America, is one of four places that stand out in the global maritime drug trade, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) indicated in an early July global report. According to the [ … ]
Mexican Cartels Spread Tentacles Across South America
Mexican cartels are expanding their operations in South America, buying and trafficking cocaine through connections established in several countries for distribution in the United States and Europe. In Colombia, the Mexican Sinaloa, Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), Los Zetas, and Beltrán Leyva cartels are reportedly the main buyers and traffickers of [ … ]
Exercise PANAMAX 2022 Kicks Off in Mayport, Florida
U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet (USNAVSO/4THFLT) is hosting the Combined Force Maritime Component Command (CFMCC) Staff participating in exercise PANAMAX 2022, in Mayport, Florida, Aug. 1-12, 2022. Exercise PANAMAX 2022 is a U.S. Southern Command- (SOUTHCOM) sponsored exercise that provides important training opportunities for nations to work together [ … ]
Brazil Promotes Maritime Security off Atlantic Coast of Africa
The Brazilian Navy (MB) is spearheading Operation Guinex-II in the Gulf of Guinea, Africa, June 18-August 20, with exercises at sea and ports to increase maritime security and interoperability with the navies and coast guards of the region. Participating in the operation are Cameroon, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and [ … ]
Boat Carrying Haitian Migrants Capsizes, Kills 17
Seven miles off the Bahamian island of New Providence, just after 1 a.m. on July 24, the Royal Bahamas Police and Defence Force responded to reports of a boating incident. Rescue teams recovered 17 dead bodies of Haitian migrants after a boat had capsized off the cost of the island [ … ]
Resolute Sentinel Going Full Speed Ahead
Dozens of exercises, four countries, and a busy and proactive summer just about summarize Resolute Sentinel 22. The exercises began in Guatemala in March 2022, moved to Honduras and El Salvador, and will end in Belize in August, providing joint training and improving readiness of United States and partner nations’ [ … ]
Chilean Police Seizes Synthetic Drugs with Netherlands Support
Chile’s Investigative Police (PDI) dismantled a transnational gang dedicated to ecstasy trafficking, carrying out the largest seizure of this narcotic in South America. The seizure was the result of a concertedeffort with the Netherlands Police, with surveillance that began in the port of Rotterdam and continued all the way to [ … ]
Naval Campaign Orion, a Cornerstone in the Fight Against Narcotrafficking
On July 1, the Colombian Navy presentedthe results of the nine versions of Multinational Naval Campaign Orion, aColombian Navy-led initiative, fundamental in the fight against narcotrafficking worldwide. The campaign, whose creation dates back to 2017 with the support of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and the Mexican Navy, strengthened interdiction operations [ … ]