Browsing: South America

With global cocaine production reaching a record estimated 4,100 metric tons in 2024, Ecuador has emerged as one of the principal departure points for cocaine shipments bound for international markets. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the country seized nearly 300 metric tons of drugs in 2024 — one of the highest totals in the…

The Colombian department of Guaviare has become one of the principal battlegrounds in the conflict between rival dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Rather than fighting over coca cultivation alone, the armed groups are competing for control of strategic trafficking corridors, criminal economies, and key logistics routes. Following the 2016 peace agreement, the FARC fighters who…

The arrest in Ecuador of Luis Rolando Osorio Arévalo, alias Mison, accused by Colombian authorities of helping facilitate the expansion of Tren de Aragua in Bogotá, offered a glimpse into a broader transformation taking place across the Andes. Osorio was arrested in Ecuador following a coordinated operation between the security forces of Ecuador and Colombia and was transferred to Colombian…

Months of coordinated investigative work culminated in the largest seizure of stolen copper in Chile’s history. Operation High Voltage, carried out in April 2026 by the Investigative Police (PDI), the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Internal Revenue Service, and the National Customs Service, led to simultaneous raids on 49 locations across seven regions of the country. The operation resulted in the…

Across the vital maritime transit zones of the Western Hemisphere, a new era of defense is being written. As transnational criminal organizations continue to adapt their methods and exploit maritime routes, regional partners and the United States have transitioned to a posture of active, relentless disruption. The strategic objective is clear: Apply unyielding systemic friction to the transnational threat networks…

In the Amazon, where criminal organizations have spent decades building networks dedicated to drug trafficking, illegal gold mining, and smuggling, a new economic frontier is emerging. As global demand rises for critical minerals used in batteries, semiconductors, defense systems, artificial intelligence, and clean energy technologies, resources such as coltan, cassiterite, nickel, lithium, niobium, and rare earth elements are becoming increasingly…