For the past 15 years, the willingness of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to give billions of dollars in loans across Latin America created the perception that the country has been spending unlimited resources to woo allies in a region where the United States historically carries significant influence. Far [ … ]
Special Report
How Cryptocurrencies Are Empowering Transnational Criminal Organizations and Countries in Latin America
During the COVID-19 pandemic, life as we knew it changed dramatically as activities, both licit and illicit, moved to the virtual world. We witnessed shopping, college classes, diplomatic meetings, financial transactions, and organized crime activities transition online almost overnight. The pandemic has empowered transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) to establish new [ … ]
The Brazilian Antarctic Program Turns 40
On January 12, 1982, the Brazilian Antarctic Program (PROANTAR, in Portuguese) was formally created by Decree No. 86.830. The first official Brazilian expedition left for Antarctica later that year, on December 20. Forty years following PROANTAR’s inception seems to be the opportune time to remember the history of Antarctic interests [ … ]
US Department of Defense Role in Addressing Extra-hemispheric State Rivals in Latin America and the Caribbean
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 Future of the Coldest, Windiest, Driest, Highest Place on Earth: The Antarctic Treaty
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 [ … ]
Iran’s Pattern of Penetration in Latin America
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 [ … ]
The Guatemalan Regional Peacekeeping Operations Training Command: A Model for Other Countries
“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. [ … ]
Women, Peace, and Security Makes Its Debut at Tradewinds 2021
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 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 [ … ]
Empowering the Enlisted Forces of Partner Nations: SOUTHCOM’s ELPD Program
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 [ … ]
National Action Plans and Peacekeeping: An Important First Step for WPS Efforts
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, [ … ]
Athena’s Sentinels: The Presence of Women in Special Operations Forces of Latin America
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 [ … ]