The engagement of extra-hemispheric state rivals to the United States in Latin America is an increasingly acknowledged strategic challenge to the U.S. and the region that requires a whole-of-government response, including a supporting role by the U.S. military. The character of that challenge, however, is substantially different than the efforts [ … ]
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 [ … ]
When two Iranian warships steamed around the southern tip of Africa in early June 2021, in a possible voyage to Venezuela, alarm bells rang throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. What once seemed impossible looked to be inevitable as regional intelligence officials scrambled to determine the implications of Iranian naval [ … ]
“Welcome, make yourself at home,” such is how Guatemalan Army Colonel Julio César Ponce Monterroso, commandant of the Regional Peacekeeping Operations Training Command (CREOMPAZ, in Spanish), welcomed us. “The projection of the State’s national power in the international arena is at the heart of our primary mission here,” he said. [ … ]
Nestled inside the Captain’s meeting room aboard a ship sit two women. Suddenly, three men in blue military service uniforms and armed with assault rifles burst in and begin to search the area while another armed man takes the women to the main deck for interrogation about suspicions of human [ … ]
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 [ … ]
They are the doers of the armed forces, the eyes and ears of their commanders, who guide and inspire the troops to get the job done. Often referred to as the backbone of the military, noncommissioned officers (NCO) have long been recognized within the U.S. service branches as critical to [ … ]
The landmark United Nations Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), which addresses the importance of women’s full and equal participation in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response, and post-conflict resolution, aims to mainstream gender in U.N. institutions and peacemaking processes of all governments. Consistent with this, [ … ]
The Greek civilization, which flourished between the years 2000 and 500 B.C., revered the goddess Athena, a mythological deity linked to wisdom and battle strategy, the antithesis of Ares, god of war and violence, giving her attributes such as sagacity and astuteness, while aggressiveness and impulsivity were characteristics bestowed upon [ … ]
Costa Rica seized 71.2 tons of drugs in 2020, a twofold increase in two years and a new record for the country, which has emerged as a major initial transshipment country for South American drugs en route to the United States. The year 2021 shows no signs of letting up, [ … ]
Ballistic missile submarines and long-range bombers are two of the three legs of the nuclear triad maintained by the United States. Together with land-based intercontinental missiles, the three legs are linked by Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) networking capabilities. On August 18, U.S. strategic forces conducted a GLOBAL STORM [ … ]
On July 11, thousands of people across Cuba took to the streets, fed up with the lack of food, basic products, medicine, and vaccines to combat COVID-19. They were the first large-scale demonstrations in Cuba since 1994, and the largest since Fidel Castro took power in 1959. Protesters used social [ … ]
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