The growing presence of the Red Command (CV), one of Brazil’s most powerful criminal organizations, outside its national territory is transforming the crime landscape in South America. In Chile, the arrival of CV — facilitated through alliances with local gangs and support networks from Bolivia and Paraguay — is creating [ … ]
The Amazon basin, where Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador converge, faces a severe security crisis. Transnational organized crime operates in 54 of the 75 border towns in this region, representing an alarming 72 percent of the areas bordering these countries, research from Peruvian investigative journalism news site OjoPúblico and other [ … ]
The fight against the Tren de Aragua has been intensifying in Latin America with several feats, thanks in part to increased cooperation and intelligence exchange of partner nations’ security forces. The Tren de Aragua, which started in Venezuela and whom Argentina and the United States designated as a terrorist organization, [ … ]
Eighteen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have joined forces in a regional alliance to combat organized crime, a growing threat that puts the stability and security of the region at risk. With the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), this initiative, launched on December 12, 2024, seeks [ … ]
In October 2024, the identity and photo of Hezbollah’s leader in Latin America was revealed. According to the report released by Argentina’s Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich, he is Lebanese Hussein Ahmad Karaki, currently residing in Lebanon. In the 1990s, as head of the Foreign Security Organization (ESO) of Iran’s [ … ]
The Tren de Aragua, one of Venezuela’s most violent criminal organizations, is expanding its influence throughout the Americas, stretching its tentacles further north, reaching Mexico and the United States. Its impact, which compromises regional stability and security, has led Mexican authorities to strengthen alliances with international partners to contain this [ … ]
China’s growing influence in Latin America is being felt in Chile in several areas. Among others, the Asian country is pursuing increased access into the energy sector. China’s push, experts say, is a threat to national security and increases Beijing’s leverage over the Andean country. According to international news [ … ]
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 [ … ]
While the democratic legitimacy of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro has been rejected around the world, the dictator clings to power with the crucial support of China, Iran, and Russia. This network of geopolitical alliances not only challenges regional interests and threaten security, but also contributes to deepening Venezuela’s isolation, British [ … ]
The increasing number of Chinese-operated ports in Latin America is raising concerns about their use by Chinese criminal networks as well as transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) for the trafficking of illicit goods, the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) indicated in a recent report. “Geopolitically, the [ … ]
At a time when experts worldwide are warning about the increase of state-sponsored cybercrime, a recent collaboration between Paraguay and the United States uncovered and thwarted a serious Chinese-state threat. A cybersecurity assessment of Paraguayan government networks, conducted with support from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), designed to strengthen the security [ … ]
Since Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict” against organized crime and gangs in early January, the South American country’s security forces have been dedicated to regaining peace and security and curbing the violence across the territory. Within this framework, the Ecuadorian Armed Forces successfully seized some 30 [ … ]
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