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The global maritime order, a pillar of international trade and security, faces growing threats. In a recent report, think tank the Atlantic Council, states that China and Russia, through clandestine fleets and armed groups, are upsetting the international rules that govern the oceans, putting consistency and commercial flow at risk. The stability of the seas is vital for the world…
In its recent report, The Kremlin's Playbook in Latin America, European think tank Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) highlights Russia’s use of oil to expand its influence in the region. The strategy, the CSD indicates, also provides Moscow with a means to circumvent economic sanctions imposed following the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022. “By establishing…
Russia has been intensifying its influence in Latin America on several fronts. In the IT sector, Russia has been furnishing advanced surveillance systems to several Latin American countries, technology that is critical to the survival of authoritarian regimes. In a recent report published by the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University (FIU), Douglas Farah,…
The Daniel Ortega-Rosario Murillo regime in Nicaragua and Russia, through their alliance, carry out an ongoing “intelligence offensive” against opponents, free thinkers, and embassies by way of a Russian espionage center that operates in a Nicaraguan Army military base, Nicaraguan investigative news site Confidencial indicated in a recent report. “The Russian center is operating to carry out cyber espionage. In…
For regular audiences of Polish public broadcaster Polskie Radio, the headlines on its website appeared strange: “The unacceptable truth: The EU will manage without Poland” and “Ukraine will stay outside of the EU.” The pro-Russian, Euroskeptic narratives didn't align with the broadcaster's usual coverage. But at first glance, the website appeared legitimate. Those who looked closer saw the giveaway: The…
This article was originally published by the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy, Florida International University in September 2024. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Over the past decade, Russian-based companies have provided sophisticated surveillance technology to several Latin American countries. These technologies are critical to the survival of the repressive regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, and possibly criminal nonstate actors…
Russia and Iran have intensified their influence in Latin America following the invasion of Ukraine, employing asymmetric strategies such as propaganda, military cooperation, and support for non-state groups to strengthen their ties with like-minded regimes and expand their presence in the region. Such were some of the findings of a recent report from think tank Center for Strategic International Studies…
In mid-June, a few days before Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his counterpart Kim Jong-un in North Korea, Google Cloud reported on a wave of cyberattacks in Brazil by the Pukchong hacker group, also known as UNC4899, linked to the North Korean government, which targeted financial services and cryptocurrency companies. In 2023, still in the Latin American country, hackers…
Nicaragua has been intensifying repression under the Daniel Ortega-Rosario Murillo regime, a key aspect being Russia’s Managua Training Center (RTC), which is instrumental for the persecution of voices critical of the regime, Spanish daily El País reported. Eliseo Núñez, a former Nicaraguan opposition lawmaker in exile in Costa Rica, told Diálogo on June 10 that “during the 2018 repression, foreign-looking…
The impact of criminal groups and populism in countries such as Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Venezuela is reaching alarming levels, exacerbated by the influence of authoritarian regimes such as China, Russia, and Iran, threatening stability and security in the hemisphere, said Carlos Sánchez Berzaín, director of the Inter-American Democracy Institute, in an opinion piece for Argentine news site Infobae. Latin America…
Russian disinformation campaigns are spreading in Latin America, raising concerns for regional stability, due to the growing presence of Russia in the information and geopolitical sphere. The Kremlin is leading efforts to exert influence in the “global south” through the media. This strategy seeks to promote non-progressive values and question the liberal democratic legacy in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and…
Within weeks of blocking a United Nations (U.N.) Security Council resolution that sought to ban nuclear weapons in outer space, Russia likely launched a weapon into low-Earth orbit capable of inspecting and attacking other satellites, keeping up with its dangerous behavior in space. According to U.S. Space Command, the May 16 launch included COSMO 2576, a type of Russian military…
