In a northeastern suburb of Moscow, behind the walls of a cybersecurity consulting firm, NTC Vulkan engineers help Russia’s intelligence agencies strengthen their hacking operations, launch cyberattacks, sow disinformation, train agents on how to ambush national infrastructure, and monitor sections of the internet, The Vulkan Files, an international investigative project [ … ]
Transnational Threats
Russian Accounts Spread Fake News on TikTok
Kremlin-funded media and their propaganda have been reaching millions via Chinese social media app TikTok, an analysis from the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) of U.S. think tank German Marshal Fund found. The ASD identified a network of 78 accounts on TikTok, linked to kremlin-funded outlets, which spread disinformation, pro-Russian [ … ]
64 Percent of the Population Believes There Are Disinformation Strategies in Venezuela, Study Says
A study on access to information in Venezuela by Equilibrium CenDE, a research center that analyzes social, economic, and political problems in Venezuela and throughout Latin America, reveals that 64 percent of the Venezuelan population believes that there are disinformation and news manipulation strategies. The research shows that 78 percent [ … ]
Mexican Cartels Foment Violence in Ecuador
The Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Mexican cartels are turning Ecuador into “a war zone” for control of cocaine trafficking from Colombia through Ecuador bound for the United States and Europe, U.S. digital platform Vice News reported. Local gang members are sent to cartel-funded training camps in northern Ecuador to [ … ]
Ortega Pushes for Integration of Russia in SICA
The regime of Daniel Ortega-Rosario Murillo requested in mid-April to bring Russia as an observer country of the Central American Integration System (SICA) to expand its presence in the region, U.S. news site Voice of America (VOA) reported. The initiative was immediately rejected by Costa Rica and Guatemala. The government [ … ]
Chinese Fishing Vessels’ ‘Floating Cities’ Prey on Latin American Seas
The waters off the coast of Argentina are home to a unique phenomenon — seemingly “floating cities” of fishing vessels that exploit the lack of legislation in international waters to plunder the marine ecosystem. Most are part of China’s vast fishing fleet, which numbers in the hundreds and operate in [ … ]
China Breaks Ground on Dubious Housing Scheme in Nicaragua
The Daniel Ortega-Rosario Murillo regime has begun another dubious social housing program with financing from state-run China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA). The regime, without further details and amid skepticism, said that CIDCA would invest $60 million in the construction of 12,034 houses in 15 departments of the country. “Nicaragua’s [ … ]
Operation Trigger IX Combats Crime in Latin America
In an unprecedented action, the largest of its kind in Latin America, authorities seized more than 200 tons of drugs and 8,000 firearms and arrested nearly 15,000 people as part of INTERPOL-led Operation Trigger IX, which saw the participation of 15 police forces from the region for 22 days. The [ … ]
Massachusetts National Guard Delivers Firefighting Equipment to Paraguay
A delegation led by U.S. Air Force Major General Gary Keefe, Massachusetts National Guard (MANG) adjutant general, delivered critical firefighting gear to Paraguay, the MANG’s partner in the State Partnership Program (SPP), on May 16. Massachusetts fire departments contributed 1,000 sets of firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE) and two fully [ … ]
US Government Repatriates Radioactive Materials from Guatemala
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) — a defense and combat support agency of the U.S. Department of Defense — recently played an integral role in the successful repatriation of two Cobalt-60 radioactive sources. In close partnership with Guatemala’s Ministry of Energy and Mines and the U.S. Department of Energy’s [ … ]
US Helps Chile Prepare for Nuclear Disasters
A delegation from the Office of International Nuclear Security (INS) of the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, part of the Department of Energy, visited Santiago, Chile, to meet with the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN). The meeting included a training course on nuclear contingency planning and the evaluation of physical [ … ]
US, Colombian Armies Strengthen Partnership During Training Rotation
The United States and Colombian armies are continually looking for ways to further strengthen the already rich partnership they share. The latest example of this comes as an infantry company from the Colombian Army was embedded with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, alongside U.S. soldiers from the [ … ]