The Nicaraguan regime of Daniel Ortega-Rosario Murillo defended the right of each country to develop nuclear weapons in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Managua on February 2, Nicaragua state-owned news site El 19 Digital reported. “In this world what should be done is for all [countries] [ … ]
Transnational Threats
China’s Spy Balloons Float over the World
The Chinese spy balloons that entered the airspace of the United States and at least three Latin American countries in late January and early February, capturing the world’s attention, exposed China’s growing interest in low-cost and difficult-to-detect devices for surveillance and defense systems, Spanish daily El País reported. “The more [ … ]
Mexican Cartels Bolster Foothold and Alliances in Colombia
Between 2018 and 2022, Colombia’s Ombudsman Office emitted more than 20 alerts that affiliates of Mexico’s largest and most powerful cartels were active on Colombian soil. Some 40 Mexican nationals, according to the Ombudsman Office, were behind bars for drug trafficking charges in Colombia as of early 2023. Syndicates such [ … ]
Jamaica Builds Up Capabilities to Deal Blows to Narcotrafficking
The Jamaica Defence Force’s (JDF) Maritime, Air, and Cyber Command (MACC) kicked off the new year conducting a maritime training exercise in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Jamaica together with the Dominican Armed Forces and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. Exercise Event Horizon, carried out January 10-21, which [ … ]
China and 5G Technology, a Weapon for Dictatorships in Latin America
In China, the government maintains control over the internet and all information and communication technology products and services provided by Chinese companies. According to Argentina-based news site TeleSemana, China has been using the technology of Huawei, a company closely linked to the Chinese government, to control and monitor the population. [ … ]
Illegal Gold Mining Operations in Venezuelan Amazon on the Rise
On January 9, the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP), of U.S.-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) Amazon Conservation, said that according to satellite images more than 750 hectares of the Yacapana National Park in the Venezuelan Amazon had been deforested between 2021 and 2022 — all for illegal gold mining [ … ]
Colombia’s Caribbean Naval Force Committed to the Fight Against Narcotrafficking
The Colombian Navy’s Caribbean Naval Force (FNC) recently presented its results for 2022 in the areas of security and development. These included the seizure of more than 153 tons of narcotics; the capture of 1,198 members of different criminal groups, among them 10 leaders; and the execution of 64 search [ … ]
US to Expand Monitoring Program Against IUU Fishing
In late December 2022, NOAA Fisheries, responsible for managing the United States’ ocean resources, announced a plan to expand and update the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) aimed at curbing illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing worldwide. “The program is one of several tools NOAA utilizes to combat IUU fishing [ … ]
Iranian Leaders Eyeing Latin America as Safe Haven
Demonstrations in Iran that erupted in September 2022 over the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly, rapidly expanded into a movement calling for the ousting of the theocratic regime in place for more than five decades. While the regime [ … ]
China Seeks Access to Antarctica with Port in Argentina
A multipurpose port project in Río Grande, Argentina set to be built with funds from a Chinese company has sparked controversy due to global conflict risks, EFE news agency reported. Río Grande is a city located on the northeast coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, in the Argentine [ … ]
Confronting China, Iran, and Russia Against Threats to Democracy
Washington, D.C.-based think tank Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS) hosted the 2023 Western Hemisphere Security Forum on January 19, bringing together political leaders and defense, intelligence, and law enforcement officials of the region to analyze issues such as threats to democracies in Latin America and strategies to confront [ … ]
China Plunders Bolivian Gold
Chinese companies have been hiding behind mining cooperatives to extract gold in the northern regions of the department of La Paz, Bolivia. These cooperatives receive an income in exchange for maintaining secrecy. These Chinese companies have been enriching themselves with Bolivian gold without paying taxes, while polluting and damaging the [ … ]