Recent News
Ensuring Partnership, Trust, Teamwork
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral James A. Aiken Jr., commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. Fourth Fleet (USNAVSO/4THFLT) is committed to work with the maritime forces of Latin American and Caribbean partner nations to enhance the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere. Rear Adm. Aiken spoke with Diálogo about [ … ]
Organized Crime Destroys Latin American Forests
Drug trafficking, illegal mining, and illegal logging in Latin America not only fuel violence, but also destroy the environment. “There was record destruction of the Amazon in 2020, as the rainforest loss an area around the size of Belize, and the situation looks even bleaker in 2021,” Insight Crime, an [ … ]
Humanitarian Crisis in Venezuela Persists, Operation Shelter Enters Its 4th year
For the past four years, Operation Shelter, under the command of the Brazilian Ministry of Defense, has been welcoming Venezuelan refugees from the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and promoting their relocation. According to United Nations agencies, more than 5 million Venezuelans have left their country, with Brazil being their [ … ]
Possible Russian Interference in Colombia’s Elections
In 2018, former U.S. Deputy Assistant of Defense for the Western Hemisphere Frank Mora said that Russia would try to intervene in the Colombian elections. Mora, whom President Joe Biden nominated as U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States in July 2021, added that the Russians would likely be [ … ]
Russian Presence in Venezuela Reaches Colombian Border
In Colombia’s Arauca department, on the border with Venezuela, not only are armed groups waging a merciless battle under the protection of the Nicolás Maduro regime, but on the Venezuelan side, Russian service members are spying on Colombia, says Border Wars, a new investigative video series of the national security [ … ]
The Future of the Coldest, Windiest, Driest, Highest Place on Earth: The Antarctic Treaty
The treaty that governs the largest desert in the world is coming up for renewal in 2048. The year the Antarctic Treaty entered into force, 1961, most of the world was still watching television in black and white. On its face, this seems like something that we should be able [ … ]
Chilean Satellite Celebrates 10 Years in Space, Doubles Its Operational Capacity
The Chilean Air Force’s (FACh, in Spanish) FASat-Charlie satellite has doubled its projected lifespan by completing 10 years of operation. Launched into orbit on December 16, 2011, the Chilean satellite, built by Airbus Defence and Space, put Chile at the forefront of space presence in Latin America, becoming a milestone [ … ]
Chinese Fishing Fleet Wreaks Havoc in Latin American Oceans
This year will be no exception when it comes to the Chinese fishing fleet’s illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices in the territorial waters of Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador, the Argentine independent journalism site Urgente 24 said on January 3, 2022. “It is estimated that 450 vessels will be [ … ]
Disinformation in Colombia
El Salvador Seizes 4.6 Tons of Cocaine, Two Semisubmersibles
The Salvadoran Navy’s Trident Naval Task Force (FTNT, in Spanish) and the National Civil Police (PNC, in Spanish) seized 4,656 kilograms of cocaine in three operations. The PNC reported on January 10, 2022, the seizure of 500 kg of cocaine that two Salvadoran nationals were transporting in an artisanal boat, [ … ]
US Renews Efforts to Combat International Drug Trafficking
In mid-December 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and giving sweeping powers to the U.S. Treasury Department to sanction foreign individuals and organizations engaging in the global trade of illegal drugs. “The trafficking into the United States of illicit drugs, including fentanyl and [ … ]