In a joint operation with the Colombian Army, the Colombian Navy seized nearly 2 tons of cocaine aboard a semisubmersible in the south Pacific coast of Colombia. The drug and the vessel belong to the Alfonso Cano Western Bloc, a dissident group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, [ … ]
News
Brazil: Police Seizes More than 24 Tons of Marijuana from Paraguay
On September 3, 2021, agents of the Brazilian Federal Police (PF, in Portuguese) and Federal Highway Police (PRF, in Portuguese) seized 24.5 tons of marijuana on a highway in Santa Catarina. It was the largest marijuana seizure ever recorded in this Brazilian state, according to local authorities. “The drug was [ … ]
US Aircraft Take Part in Operational Exercise in Brazil
U.S. Air Force (USAF) service members were in Brazil to participate in the Tápio 2021 Joint Exercise (EXCON, in Portuguese), conducted by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB, in Portuguese). The activity, which simulated a war scenario, was carried out from the Campo Grande Air Base, in Mato Grosso do Sul [ … ]
Argentina: Gendarmerie Seizes More Than 4 Tons of Marijuana
The Argentine National Gendarmerie seized more than 4 tons of marijuana in less than 2 weeks. On September 13, 2021, during an operation in the city of Corrientes, Corrientes Squadron 48 seized more than 500 kilograms of the drug. Agents were conducting routine controls in the Punta Taitalo neighborhood when [ … ]
Maduro Regime Continues Attacks Against Freedom of Expression
The Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela has maintained its attacks against the press and freedom of expression, despite repeated appeals from U.N. human rights experts, urging it to stop intimidating and criminalizing journalists and civil society. According to the 2021 Semi-annual Report on Freedom of Expression, which the Venezuelan human [ … ]
Paraguay, Brazil Destroy 673 Tons of Marijuana
Brazilian and Paraguayan security forces removed 673 tons of marijuana from circulation during the joint Operation New Alliance XXVII (Operación Nueva Alianza XXVII), which ended on September 3, 2021. During the 12-day operation, members of the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) and the Brazilian Federal Police (PF, in [ … ]
Guatemala Asks UN for Strategy Against Narcotrafficking in Venezuela
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei urged Central American and other Latin American countries to implement a joint plan against illicit drug trafficking. More specifically, he referred to taking action against Venezuela, a distribution point for most drugs, much of which end up in the United States, President Giammattei said. “Drug trafficking [ … ]
Paraguay, US Capture Leader of International Money Laundering Network
On August 24, the Paraguayan and U.S. governments carried out a coordinated action against the money laundering network of Kassem Mohamad Hijazi, a Brazilian citizen of Lebanese descent involved in funding Hezbollah terrorism. In response to a U.S. extradition request, teams of the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) [ … ]
Colombian Army Has New Protection Capabilities
General Eduardo Enrique Zapateiro Altamiranda, commander of the Colombian Army, is committed to the fight against the country’s organized and remnant armed groups with international cooperation to confront transnational narcotrafficking threats. Diálogo spoke with Gen. Zapateiro about these issues at the Army Command headquarters in Bogotá. Diálogo: What are the [ … ]
Colombia Captures Alias Camilo 40, Leader of Los Contadores
The Colombian Army, in coordination with the Office of the Attorney General, arrested Mario Mauricio Morán, alias Camilo 40, head of the criminal group Los Contadores, a dissident faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, in Spanish). Authorities made the capture in Valle del Cauca, on September 3, [ … ]
WHINSEC Continues to Bridge Gaps
Some of the key pillars of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) are inter-service, inter-agency, and multinational integration as part of our educational process. To that extent, WHINSEC’s leadership is always seeking ways to continue to expand its reach across sister services, other governmental entities, and partner nations. [ … ]
Panamanian Public Force Conducts Exercises for Interoceanic Canal Security
Overseeing dangerous cargo in ports, boarding illicit smuggling vessels in Panamanian territorial waters, and responding to spills of toxic substances are some of the exercises that Panamanian security forces have carried out during PANAMAX Alpha 2021, an exercise held from mid-August to September. PANAMAX Alpha is an annual exercise led [ … ]