Browsing: South America

Colombia Targets Criminal Corridors Along Its Caribbean Coast

Colombia Targets Criminal Corridors Along Its Caribbean Coast

Recent Colombian Army operations in northern Colombia underscore the Caribbean’s strategic importance to the criminal organizations operating in the country. Controlling coastal corridors, transportation routes, and maritime departure points remains one of these groups’ primary objectives, while the Colombian government combines intelligence, sustained territorial presence, and international cooperation to restrict their freedom of movement. On June 15, the Colombian Army…

September 11, 2026
Chile, US Strengthen Geospatial Capabilities for Combined Operations

Chile, US Strengthen Geospatial Capabilities for Combined Operations

The Chilean Army and U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command (USAWHC) strengthened their geospatial capabilities and interoperability during a three-day exchange in Santiago, Chile, focused on how geographic information and data collection can support operational and tactical planning. Geospatial experts from the Chilean Army’s Military Geographic Institute and USAWHC’s 512th Engineer Detachment Geospatial Planning Cell, G-37 Engineer Directorate, and G-2 Intelligence…

September 09, 2026
Maritime Security in Latin America and the Caribbean: A New Landscape of Challenges and Cooperation

Maritime Security in Latin America and the Caribbean: A New Landscape of Challenges and Cooperation

The maritime environment in Latin America and the Caribbean is undergoing a rapid transformation. Traditional threats such as drug trafficking and illegal fishing are now compounded by emerging challenges, including the expansion of transnational criminal networks along maritime routes, the use of advanced technologies, the protection of critical infrastructure, and the growing presence of extra-regional actors. In an interview with…

September 09, 2026
China Consolidates Its Position in Peru’s Critical Minerals Sector

China Consolidates Its Position in Peru’s Critical Minerals Sector

The expansion of the state-owned Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) at the Toromocho copper mine, in Peru’s Junín region, represents the latest step in a long-term strategy through which Beijing is strengthening its position in supply chains of global strategic importance. The approval of 28 projects comprising 33 operational components — backed by an investment of more than $700 million…

September 08, 2026
Capricorn Bi-Oceanic Corridor Could Expand China’s Strategic Reach in South America

Capricorn Bi-Oceanic Corridor Could Expand China’s Strategic Reach in South America

The completion of a key section of the Capricorn Bio-Oceanic Corridor marks a new phase in South America’s logistical integration. As the route brings the continent’s interior closer to Pacific ports and Asian markets, analysts warn that it could also strengthen the trade, logistics, and infrastructure network underpinning China’s growing strategic influence in Latin America. The corridor brings together Argentina,…

September 04, 2026
China’s Lithium Push Deepens Latin America’s Strategic Dependence

China’s Lithium Push Deepens Latin America’s Strategic Dependence

The expansion of Chinese companies in Latin America’s lithium sector has evolved from a purely commercial enterprise into a source of geopolitical leverage. Beijing’s ambitions extend well beyond mining. Chinese firms are increasingly seeking influence across the entire lithium value chain — from extraction and processing to exports, and, increasingly, the regulatory frameworks that govern these resources. Evan Ellis, research…

September 01, 2026
SOUTHAM 2026 Brings South American Air Chiefs Together to Address Regional Challenges

SOUTHAM 2026 Brings South American Air Chiefs Together to Address Regional Challenges

Air chiefs and senior military leaders from across South America gathered in Tucson, Arizona, August 25-28 for the South American Air Chiefs Conference (SOUTHAM) 2026, a four-day conference focused on strengthening regional cooperation and developing coordinated approaches to shared security challenges across the Western Hemisphere. Hosted by U.S. Air Forces Southern/12th Air Force (AFSOUTH), the air component to U.S. Southern…

September 01, 2026
‘Ndrangheta in Ecuador: A Growing Threat to Regional Security

‘Ndrangheta in Ecuador: A Growing Threat to Regional Security

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…

August 31, 2026
Why Guaviare Matters: FARC Dissident Rivalries Threaten Colombia’s Strategic Trafficking Corridors

Why Guaviare Matters: FARC Dissident Rivalries Threaten Colombia’s Strategic Trafficking Corridors

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…

August 28, 2026
China’s Expansion in Squid Fishery Poses New Maritime Security Challenges

China’s Expansion in Squid Fishery Poses New Maritime Security Challenges

The expansion of China’s fishing fleet in South American waters is no longer limited to the large concentrations of vessels operating on the high seas along the edge of the region’s exclusive economic zones (EEZs). Chinese companies have also expanded their presence within national fishing fleets through acquisitions, local subsidiaries, and the reflagging of vessels, allowing them to operate both…

August 28, 2026
Ecuador: At the Heart of the Reconfiguration of Andean Illicit Corridors

Ecuador: At the Heart of the Reconfiguration of Andean Illicit Corridors

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…

August 25, 2026
Chile Exposes How Organized Crime Turns Stolen Copper into Transnational Revenue

Chile Exposes How Organized Crime Turns Stolen Copper into Transnational Revenue

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…

August 24, 2026