Colombia is currently the 16th largest gold producer worldwide and the third largest in Latin America, according to the Statista world ranking. In 2022 alone, the country exported 70.7 tons of gold worth $2.9 billion, according to figures from Colombia’s National Mining Agency. Following oil, coal, and coffee, gold is [ … ]
In the aftermath of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine last year, global attitudes toward Russia’s leadership have shifted dramatically, with large majorities of the population in dozens of countries reporting disapproval of the Kremlin. Data compiled from surveys of thousands of people in 137 countries and regions showed [ … ]
China’s influence continues to grow through global development and its Belt and Road Initiative. So what’s next? China’s vast overseas development spending has made Beijing one of the most sought-after financiers from countries around the globe. From 2000 to 2017, China’s loans and grants totaled $843 billion across 165 countries, [ … ]
Guatemala, Haiti, Belize and Paraguay are the only countries in the Americas that recognize Taiwan's independence; the rest maintain commercial and bilateral relations with the People's Republic of China, which is gaining more and more ground in Latin America. SAN SALVADOR - China's influence in Latin America has almost completely [ … ]
The little-noticed program that led to a Chinese spy balloon drifting across the United States this month has been discussed in China’s state-controlled media for more than a decade in articles extolling its potential military applications. The reports, dating back to at least 2011, focus on how best to exploit [ … ]
ISLAMIC MILITARY COUNTER TERRORISM COALITION The internet is globally decentralized, which allows for anonymity and contributes to its use as a platform for illegal activities, including property crimes and the promotion of violent extremism. Against such a backdrop of susceptibility — the exploitation of the internet by extremists and terrorists [ … ]
If the term "illegal fishing" conjures images of small numbers of scattered vessels independently pirating the sea's resources, think again. The problem of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing stems increasingly from state-supported deep water fishing fleets, including massive trawlers accompanied by sustainment vessels, freezer, and transport vessels. Operating continuously [ … ]
Soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a Russian cargo plane idled on a runway in Khartoum, Sudan. According to CNN, the plane’s manifest claimed it was loaded with cookies. When inspectors boarded the plane to confirm its contents, they found some cookies. But beneath the cookies, they also found one [ … ]
In Russia’s frenzied attempt to flex its muscles, get access to natural resources and increase its geopolitical relevance, it relies heavily on private military companies (PMCs). This strategy produces a small foreign footprint and offers the Kremlin plausible deniability while enriching a small circle of people. President Vladimir Putin’s Russia [ … ]
A labyrinth of more than 1.3 million kilometers of fiber-optic cables anchored to the sea floor carries about 95% of telephone and internet communications around the world every day, moving massive amounts of data every second. Everything from financial transactions to military orders passes along this underwater web of more [ … ]
On July 22, the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies concluded its 2022 cyber policy course, Cybersecurity Policy in the Americas: Challenges for Policy-Strategic Analysis, led by Dr. Boris Saavedra. The course bolsters whole-of-hemisphere cybersecurity efforts by empowering and connecting regional partners who seek to strengthen cybersecurity and [ … ]
In the past two decades, People’s Republic of China- (PRC) based companies have invested $160 billion in Latin America. Twenty one of our neighbors there have pledged themselves to China’s “Belt and road Initiative.” The PRC is attempting to “rewire” the region to its own economic benefit, securing access to [ … ]
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