In Brazil, indigenous peoples are among the populations with the highest coronavirus mortality rate, which is 150 percent higher than the country’s average. The infection rate of the disease is also 84 percent higher among these communities, affecting 759 indigenous people per 100,000 inhabitants, while the average in Brazil is [ … ]
Recent News
US Helps Caribbean Countries Fight COVID-19
The U.S. government is providing financial assistance and technical support to multiple Caribbean nations fighting COVID-19. Assistance ranges from distribution of medical or protective equipment to support for programs in which young leaders engage students while schools are closed. The U.S. Department of Defense has delivered thousands of face shields, [ … ]
UN Publishes World Drug Report and Highlights Decrease in Narcotrafficking Due to the Pandemic
According to the United Nations’ (U.N.) World Drug Report 2020, published on June 25, drug addiction affects 35.6 million people worldwide. The report, which is annually updated, uses 2019 reference data, but also offers an analysis on the effect of the novel coronavirus pandemic on the drug supply chain. The [ … ]
US Gives Panama Personal Protective Equipment for Doctors in Public Hospitals
The U.S. government delivered personal protective equipment (PPE) to Panamanian Vice Minister of Health Ivette Berrio, on July 24. The equipment, valued at $90,000, will go to the medical personnel at the San Miguel Arcángel Hospital in Panama City, as well as health dependencies in Chiriquí and Colón. Ryan Rowlands, [ … ]
Panamanian Air and Naval Service Seize More Than 1 Ton of Cocaine
On May 28, during a combined operation with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Colombian Navy, the Panamanian Air and Naval Service (SENAN, in Spanish) intercepted a speedboat sailing northwest of Isla Grande, Colón province, with 1,055 kilograms of cocaine on board. The boat’s crew, three Colombians, was also captured. [ … ]
Travis Air Force Base in the United States Delivers Aid to Honduras
U.S. Air Force airmen assigned to the 22nd Airlift Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, California, delivered humanitarian aid supplies to Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, July 18. The mission was in support of the Denton Program, a U.S. Department of Defense transportation program that moves humanitarian cargo, donated by [ … ]
4th Fleet Commander Hosts Maritime Staff Talks with Chilean Navy
Rear Admiral Don Gabrielson, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/ U.S. Fourth Fleet, hosted delegates from the Chilean Navy for the annual Maritime Staff Talks (MST) July 22. MSTs support the U.S. global strategy by building and strengthening working relationships between the U.S. and partner nations and improving interoperability [ … ]
Argentine Security Forces Seize More than 700 Kg of Marijuana
Between June 3-12, the Argentine National Gendarmerie (GNA, in Spanish) and Naval Prefecture (PNA, in Spanish) seized a total of 736 kilograms of marijuana in different operations conducted in the border area with Paraguay. The first seizure took place on June 3 in Puerto Libertad, a town in Misiones province. [ … ]
Colombian Public Force Curbs Drug Shipments
The Colombian Public Force continues to strengthen its results in the fight against narcotrafficking, dealing several blows to organized crime, between June 17-25. [caption id="attachment_38386" align="alignleft" width="300"] In the Guaviare jungle, the Colombian Army destroyed a lab that produced narcotics on June 23. (Photo: Colombian Army)[/caption] On June 25, the [ … ]
JIATF South and Colombia Disrupt Drug Flow in the Pacific
The Colombian Navy intercepted a vessel carrying 274 packages of cocaine, pressed and marked with different logos, during a maritime interdiction operation in the Pacific Ocean on May 25. The seizure took place 182 miles from Tumaco Port. “Thanks to Colombian naval intelligence, we deployed the ship ARC Nariño and [ … ]
Paraguayan Navy Seizes Almost 500 Kg of Marijuana
On June 6, the Paraguayan Navy, with the cooperation of the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD), seized 498 kilograms of marijuana, estimated to be worth about $150,000, while on patrol on the Paraná River in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, the SENAD said in a press release. “Blow to narcotrafficking,” the [ … ]
Brazilian Federal Police Burns Nearly 23 Metric Tons of Drugs
On June 26, the Brazilian Federal Police (PF, in Portuguese) burned nearly 23 metric tons of drugs in various cities, nationwide. The measures were part of National Drug Policy Week. The incinerated drugs included cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy, and hashish, in addition to pesticides, and smuggled controlled substances, such as methamphetamine, [ … ]