Why would the Russian Federation send soldiers in disguise to lead protests in another country? Or order its troops to attack partners of Russia? Russia has long conducted such “false flag” operations to portray itself or its partners as victims, evade responsibility, sow confusion and create a pretext for war. [ … ]
Recent News
US Army visits Brazil in search of technological partnership for Security and Defense areas
In mid-January, representatives from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) visited Salvador, in Bahia state, Brazil, to discuss the possibility of cooperation in technological innovation projects with the Brazilian National Service for Industrial Learning (SENAI). DEVCOM-Americas Director Harry DuRette, and Rosa Santoni, director of DEVCOM Technology and Innovation [ … ]
Bolivia Eradicates More Than 9,000 Hectares of Coca Crops, Surpassing 2021 Goal
Bolivian security forces tasked with eradicating illicit coca crops have surpassed the 2021 goal of 9,000 hectares. Bolivian Minister of Government Eduardo del Castillo made the announcement during the presentation of a report on coca crop rationalization and eradication on December 16, 2021, in La Paz. “As of December 14 [ … ]
Putin Has Painted Himself into a Corner
Two years after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of a nuclear war, the Soviet Politburo ousted its leader, Nikita Khrushchev. Then-Politburo member Pyotr Shelest told me that many believed Khrushchev’s predisposition for unacceptable risk would again put the USSR in needless danger. This history [ … ]
Examining Russian and Chinese Military Operations in Venezuela
With inflation at a record high, millions of its citizens fleeing the country, and a political opposition recognized by most Western democracies as the legitimate government of Venezuela, the regime of Nicolás Maduro seemed to be on the brink of collapse in 2019. But Maduro regime survived, thanks to a [ … ]
Uruguayan Navy Modernizes Fleet with US Coast Guard Support
[caption id="attachment_54162" align="alignright" width="300"] U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Douglas Schofield, director of Acquisitions (left), and Admiral Jorge Wilson, Uruguayan Navy commander (right), tour the U.S. Coast Guard maintenance facility in Baltimore, during a September 2021 visit. (Photo: U.S. Embassy in Montevideo, Uruguay)[/caption] The Uruguayan Navy initiated a plan to [ … ]
America’s Steadfast Support For Ukraine, European Security
While Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to take an aggressive posture against Ukraine, the United States and its allies are calling for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. “President Biden has made absolutely clear to President Putin: When it comes to questions of European security, there is going to be [ … ]
Russia’s Latest Return to Latin America
The indirect threat made by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as the crisis in the Ukraine escalated in January 2022, that Russia could not rule out deploying military forces to Venezuela and Cuba, highlighted the strategic risks posed by Russia's position in the Western Hemisphere. On its face, the [ … ]
Colombian War College: Female Officers Who Make a Difference
Colombian Air Force Major Ligia Alexandra Medina Gómez, a student in the General Staff course [CEM, in Spanish] 2021 at the General Rafael Reyes Prieto War College (ESDEG, in Spanish), told Diálogo that “the women who are in the CEM are making a difference. Our professionalism and capacity are not [ … ]
Record Drug Seizures in 2021 for Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities seized more than 190 tons of drugs in 2021, a record figure that exceeds by 58 percent the 120 tons seized in 2020, the Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo reported. This means that the amount of drugs that authorities have seized in Ecuador has increased sevenfold in 10 years, [ … ]
New Jamaica Defence Force Unit Seizes 1 Ton of Cocaine
The Jamaica Defence Force’s (JDF) investment in its counternarcotics capabilities paid significant dividends in late November 2021, when its newest unit, the 2nd District JDF Coast Guard, seized nearly 1 ton of cocaine in an operation off the island’s southern coast. The seizure is important because of the volume and [ … ]
Ecuador Fails to Solve Problems at Chinese-built Hydroelectric Plant Coca Codo Sinclair
Construction of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant in Ecuador’s Napo and Sucumbíos provinces began in July 2010. In November 2016, the plant began operations. It was expected to have a capacity of 1,500 megawatts, and forecast to export power to neighboring countries; however, as of December 17, 2021, it [ … ]