The navies of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Mexico carried out exercise SOLIDAREX II, October 7-24, to assess and strengthen their response capabilities in the event of natural disasters. The forces conducted the exercise in three phases on the Pacific coasts of Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. Thousands of service members, as [ … ]
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Paraguay, Brazil Conduct Combined Operation against PCC
On October 3, 2021, agents of the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) and the Brazilian Federal Police (PF, in Portuguese) captured four leaders of the criminal organization First Capital Command (PCC, in Portuguese). The captures were made during the combined operation Secure Border (Operación Frontera Segura) 3, which [ … ]
Chinese Investors Vie for Lithium Mines in Argentina
The Zijin Mining company, one of the largest copper and gold producers in China, will acquire in full the Canadian company Neo Lithium Corp., which exploits lithium in Tres Quebradas, in the Argentine province of Catamarca, for $770 million, both companies said in a mid-October statement. In September, two other [ … ]
Energy Crisis in China Threatens Latin American Economies
The growing electricity crisis in China, a result of the lack of coal and a high post-pandemic demand for energy, is forcing the rationing of electricity throughout the country, causing industries to close and threatening to derail China’s economic growth, an adverse scenario for Latin America. “It is the worst [ … ]
USAAAD, DPAA Join Forces, Conduct Live Hoist Rescue Training
Members of Joint Task Force Bravo’s (JTF-Bravo) U.S. Army Air Ambulance Detachment (USAAAD), 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment conducted live hoist and Skedco hoist training, October 11, 2021 in Santiago, Panama. The training was in support of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), which is working [ … ]
US Strengthens Fight against Narcotrafficking in Panama
On September 20, 2021, the U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation donated a maritime interdiction patrol boat to the Panamanian Ministry of Public Security (MINSEG, in Spanish) to strengthen the fight against narcotrafficking of the Panamanian National Air and Naval Service (SENAN, in Spanish) and the Regional Center for Aeronaval Operations [ … ]
Argentina Seizes 7.5 Tons of Marijuana, 2 Narco-aircraft
In five operations carried out September 21-October 3, 2021, the Argentine National Gendarmerie (GNA, in Spanish) and the Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA, in Spanish) seized 7,589 kilograms of marijuana and two aircraft that a criminal organization was using to transport cocaine among Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. On October 3, in [ … ]
Uruguay Disrupts International Narcotrafficking Organization
In late September, intelligence exchange between Uruguayan, Paraguayan, and Argentinean authorities dealt a blow to an international narcotrafficking organization based in Uruguay. The criminal group engaged in the transport of cocaine base paste in narco-aircraft from Paraguay to Uruguay, for later shipment to Europe, the Uruguayan Ministry of the Interior [ … ]
UNITAS 2021: Brothers in Arms
U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Luis A. Camacho, a light armored vehicle platoon sergeant, broadly smiles as he sees Peruvian Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Eric Chocano, commander of the tactical vehicles battalion. Good friends and comrades, the two greet with a hug. Staff Sgt. Camacho grew up in Chosica, Lima, [ … ]
Colombia Neutralizes 10 FARC Dissidents
An air strike by special commandos of the Colombian Military Forces neutralized 10 dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, in Spanish), in the Morichal municipality, Guainía department, near the border with Brazil, on September 27, 2021. “We dealt a tough blow to a leader, the second-in-command of [ … ]
China Threatens South American Oceans
A September 24, 2021 investigative feature published by the Associated Press (AP) and the Univisión network, whose team joined the research and patrol vessel Ocean Warrior of the Amsterdam-based environmental nongovernmental organization (NGO) Sea Shepherd Global, revealed that Chinese ships are increasing their presence in the Pacific waters off the [ … ]
JTF-Bravo Trains Guatemalan Service Members, Firefighters in Prehospital Combat Medicine
In early October, Guatemalan Army officers and civilian emergency personnel strengthened their knowledge in prehospital medicine by participating in a tactical combat casualty course (TCCC) taught by units of U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-Bravo). A total of 20 service members from the Guatemalan Army’s General Felipe Cruz [ … ]