The Venezuelan regime built a narcotrafficking “super cartel” for the purpose of asymmetric warfare against the United States, U.S. think tank Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS) said in a late 2022 report. According to SFS, the Venezuelan regime and its infamous Cartel of the Suns distribute about 450 [ … ]
Transnational Threats
Venezuela and Nicaragua, Most Corrupt in Latin America
On February 1, Berlin-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) Transparency International (TI) released its Corruption Perceptions Index 2022, which ranked 180 countries based on perceived levels of corruption in the public sector. According to the NGO, 95 percent of the countries analyzed made very little progress in the fight against corruption in [ … ]
China, Russia Target Audiences with Deep Fakes
Looking directly into the camera, the news anchor speaks of the importance of U.S-Chinese cooperation in supporting the global economy. At first glance, the woman appears to be presenting a regular newscast. But neither the broadcaster nor the Wolf News branding on the video is real. It’s a deep fake, [ … ]
Costa Rica Has First Woman UH1 Helicopter Air Captain
Thanks to the support of the United States government, the Costa Rican Air Surveillance Service (SVA), of the Ministry of Public Security, has mechanics, pilots, and police officers being trained in the Aviation Program, taught through the U.S. Embassy’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL). This alliance has [ … ]
Argentina Deploys New Contingent of Blue Helmets to Cyprus
Argentina sent off a new contingent of blue helmets that left for Cyprus as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). “We have a specific task in this peacekeeping mission, that of acting as a peacekeeping force between two sectors to avoid incidents and the resumption of [ … ]
Brazilian Antarctic Program Celebrates 41 Years
The Brazilian Antarctic Program (PROANTAR), the longest-lasting and most continuous scientific project in Brazil, completed 41 years on January 12. PROANTAR is under the responsibility of the Inter-ministerial Commission for Marine Resources (CIRM), integrated by the Brazilian Navy and 15 ministries. “Scientifically understanding Antarctica and its surrounding waters is essential [ … ]
Argentina and Brazil to Share Military Technology
Argentina’s Defense Minister Jorge Taiana and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira signed a letter of intent to incorporate 156 Guaraní 6x6 armored combat vehicles to the Argentine Army’s fleet to enable both nations to conduct combined military operations with an efficient asset and contribute to stability in the region. “The [ … ]
Iran to Overhaul Venezuela’s Largest Refinery
The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) and state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) will soon start to revamp the Paraguaná Refining Center (CRP), Venezuela’s largest refining complex, to restore its fuel production capacity, Reuters reported February 3. NIORDC and PDVSA are expected to sign a $460 million agreement [ … ]
OAS: Illegal Gold Trade from Ecuador to China on the Rise
Organized crime, illegal mining, and illicit gold trade between Ecuador and China have increased substantially in recent years, the Organization of American States (OAS) indicated in a report. These problems have led Ecuador to declare illegal mining a national security threat on January 26. According to the OAS report, On [ … ]
Nicaraguan ‘Dictatorship Tried to Silence the Media,’ Says Journalist
Arrested for her journalism, kept in dire conditions in a small prison cell, and now stripped of her Nicaraguan citizenship, Lucia Pineda Ubau has endured a lot. Pineda suspects prison guards drugged her food and kept her in solitary confinement to break her will while she was in prison in [ … ]
USS Milwaukee Keeps Drugs from Reaching the US
The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS 5), with embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 104, seized an estimated $27.4 million in suspected cocaine during an interdiction at sea, February 28. While underway, a maritime patrol aircraft spotted a suspected drug smuggling go-fast vessel (GFV) and vectored [ … ]
Ortega-Murillo Regime Dissolves Nicaragua’s Private Banks Association
The Daniel Ortega-Rosario Murillo regime, through Nicaragua’s Ministry of the Interior, dissolved February 2 the legal entities of 17 civil organizations, including Nicaragua’s Private Banks Association (Asobanp), “thus cutting off the dialogue with the banking sector,” Nicaraguan daily La Prensa reported. “The Nicaraguan dictatorship has entered into a process of [ … ]