The Colombian Military Forces General Command (CGFM, in Spanish) told the press on November 25, 2020, that the Army had neutralized Marco Tulio Salcedo, alias Duver, chief financial officer of the Miller Perdomo criminal group, in Solano municipality, Caquetá department. “This individual was allegedly [...] in charge of extortions and [ … ]
Transnational Threats
Nicaragua Boycotts Aid to Hurricane Victims
Daniel Ortega insists on controlling humanitarian aid in emergency situations. He recently blocked the actions of civil organizations to deliver medicine, clothing, and food aid to thousands of people affected by hurricanes Eta and Iota in Nicaragua, between November 3-16, 2020. “The Ortega regime has hidden information, has forsaken thousands [ … ]
DOD Rewards Program Continues Successful Operations in 2020
Despite a year marred by the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Rewards Program in Colombia continued to be successful. In 2020, the program enabled Colombia’s security forces to conduct 14 operations against the narcoterrorist organizations of the Clan del Golfo, dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of [ … ]
Paraguay, Brazil Destroy Nearly 500 Tons of Marijuana
Members of the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) and the Brazilian Federal Police (PF, in Portuguese) destroyed 494.6 tons of marijuana during Operation New Alliance (Operación Nueva Alianza) XXIII, which ended on November 13, 2020. With the support of two PF helicopters, SENAD agents operated in forest areas [ … ]
Service Members Combat Illegal Activities in Brazil, at the Suriname and French Guiana Borders
Between October 22 and November 4, the Brazilian Armed Forces deployed 4,400 service members to combat transborder and environmental crimes in the states of Pará and Amapá, in the northern region of Brazil, at the Suriname and French Guiana borders. The entire area, on the eastern side of the Amazon, [ … ]
Brazilian States Conduct Internal Border Operation to Combat Organized Crime
In late October 2020, in addition to ongoing surveillance activities along Brazilian borders with 10 neighboring countries, Brazilian military and security forces turned their focus inward to internal boundaries among Brazilian states, regions that are known routes for organized crime to transport drugs, weapons, and other illegal merchandise that enter [ … ]
Brazil: Security Forces Seize 1 Ton of Cocaine on the Border with Bolivia
On October 24, 2020, the Brazilian Federal Police (PF, in Portuguese) seized 1,060 kilograms of Bolivian cocaine paste, in the Vale do Guaporé region, a municipality in Comodoro, Mato Grosso state. The drug was seized during an operation coordinated with the PF, the Mato Grosso Military Police, the Special Border [ … ]
Illegitimate Maduro Regime Attempts to Buy Loyalty with Insignificant Military Pay Increases
In mid-November, the illegitimate Nicolás Maduro regime increased service members’ salaries to cushion the impact of hyperinflation, news portals El Pitazo (Venezuela) and Infobae (Argentina) reported. According to Vice Admiral (ret.) Jesús Briceño García, former commander of the Venezuelan Navy and external advisor to the National Assembly Defense Commission, a [ … ]
Southern Command Chief Reiterates US Wishes for Peaceful Transition in Venezuela
On December 10, U.S. Navy Admiral Craig Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command, a key U.S. government figure in making visible the crisis in the South American nation, was in Panama for the fourth time. During his visit to Panama, Adm. Faller, reiterated that the United States is maintaining its [ … ]
Bolivia: Narcotics Agents Destroy Clandestine Airstrip, Mega Cocaine Lab
On October 30, Bolivia’s Special Force against Drug Trafficking (FELCN, in Spanish) seized 278 kilograms of cocaine base paste in two buildings in San Joaquín municipality, Beni department. “Authorities found a clandestine airstrip and a light aircraft,” Edwin Lobatón, commander of the FELCN’s Mobile Rural Patrol Unit, said in statements [ … ]
El Salvador Weakens MS-13, Barrio 18 Gangs
The Salvadoran authorities carried out simultaneous operations nationwide that resulted in the arrest of hundreds of gang members, on November 23-26, 2020. Among the detainees are 354 members of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), 256 of Barrio 18, and 119 of other criminal groups. The criminals were arrested for homicide, extortion, rape, [ … ]
Venezuela Among Top 20 Countries in the World at Higher Risk of Furthering Population Hunger
Nearly one third of the Venezuelan population — about 9.3 million people — are food insecure, malnourished, or suffer from hunger. This acute food insecurity is in serious danger of worsening. These were some of the warnings from the United Nations (U.N.) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the U.N. [ … ]