Cambodian officials say renovation work on a naval base in the coastal city of Sihanoukville is nearly complete, but U.S. officials have voiced suspicions the facility, being upgraded by China, will be used exclusively by its military. Suspicions about China’s intentions for the Ream naval base were raised after satellite [ … ]
Transnational Threats


Russia and Cuba Seek to Boost Relations
Russia finds itself increasingly isolated. The war in Ukraine is having a strong diplomatic impact on the Kremlin, leaving it with only a few loyal allies including China, Iran, Syria, and three Latin American countries: Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, Argentine news site Todo Noticias reported. Russia’s military industry is central [ … ]

Narcos Ravage Río Plátano Reserve in Honduras
The Río Plátano Biosphere, in the Gracias a Dios department of Honduras, is a reserve that is home to one of the tropical rainforest remnants in Central America, inhabited by more than 2,000 indigenous people who preserve their customs and traditional life, according to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. This [ … ]

Guatemala Trains Partner Nations’ Military Police
Within the framework of the Central American Armed Forces Conference (CFAC), the Guatemalan Military Police School held the First International Military Police Course at its headquarters, in the municipality of San José Pinula, June 5-July 28. Representatives from Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic received theoretical and practical lessons to [ … ]

Peru Freezes Contracts with Chinese Companies
Peru’s Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) and the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation (MVCS) have suspended the contracts awarded to construction companies China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co. Ltd., Peru branch (CTCEG); and China Railway Tunnel Group Co. Ltd., Peru branch (CRTG), after identifying irregularities in the administrative [ … ]

China Sells Low Quality Weapons
In recent years, China has sold and exported weapons to more than 40 countries worldwide. A growing problem has been arising, however, concerning the quality, safety, and performance of this equipment, global research organization RAND Corporation indicated in a June report. “Many countries acquiring Chinese military equipment for the first [ … ]

CFAC Protects Central American Borders
Military officials from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, members of the Central American Armed Forces Conference (CFAC), held multiple meetings during May to coordinate joint patrols to protect the multinational borders of the Northern Triangle, region that encompasses all three countries. “The meetings were focused on support for public security [ … ]

Bolivia Strengthens Operations Against Narcotrafficking
Bolivian authorities stepped up operations to counter the advances of international drug trafficking. On July 6, Vice Minister of Social Defense and Controlled Substances Jaime Mamani told Bolivian newspaper Opinión that authorities have carried out more than 25,000 anti-drug operations in the last two and a half years, seizing more [ … ]

Panama Strengthens Fight Against Crime with US Vehicle Donation
The U.S. Embassy in Panama presented the Ministry of Public Security with a donation of 63 Jeep J8 all-terrain vehicles and $3 million in spare parts at the National Border Service’s (SENAFRONT) facilities in Panama City. The equipment, totaling $8 million and donated in May, will be used for counter-terrorism, [ … ]

Chile Captures Tren de Aragua Criminals
Chile’s Investigative Police (PDI) arrested 55 members of Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua in different parts of the country in June. The crimes the criminals have been charged with include drug trafficking, arms violations, kidnapping for ransom, money laundering, and human trafficking for sexual exploitation, among others. According to [ … ]

US Neutralizes Russian Snake Malware Program
A coalition of U.S. security agencies dismantled Russia’s global Snake Malware network, considered “the most sophisticated cyber espionage tool designed and used by Russia’s Federal Security Service [FSB] for long-term intelligence gathering on sensitive targets,” the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) said in May. “This network, supported by Russian intelligence, [ … ]

China Increases Its Lithium Footprint in Argentina
Chinese mining companies have new projects in sight in lithium-rich Argentina and have committed to investing millions of dollars in pursuit of the “white gold,” the Argentine government indicated in an early June statement, following the visit to Shanghai of Economy Minister Sergio Massa. Among those, Tibet Summit Resources will [ … ]