The illegitimate Nicolás Maduro regime nominated 16 military officers, some of them proven corrupt and sanctioned, in an active reserve capacity for Venezuela’s December 6 fraudulent parliamentary elections. Some of them could even still be on active duty, as the pronouncements of their retirements have not been published. Maduro disclosed [ … ]
Transnational Threats
Paraguay Carries Out Record Cocaine Seizure
The largest cocaine seizure in Paraguay’s history took place on the night of October 19, when authorities found almost 3 tons of cocaine hidden in a charcoal shipment at a private port in the city of Villeta, 30 kilometers from Asunción. Following the inspection of 11 containers, authorities seized a [ … ]
Ecuadorean Police Seizes 1.5 Tons of Cocaine Hidden in Tuna Cans
The Ecuadorean National Police dealt a major blow to narcotrafficking on October 2 by finding 1.5 tons of cocaine hidden in a shipment of tuna cans in the province of Manabí. According to the Anti-narcotics Investigative Unit of the Ecuadorean Police, the cocaine was bound for a port in Guayaquil, [ … ]
Panama Seizes 3.7 Tons of Cocaine in the First Days of October
Between September 30 and October 6, the Panamanian Air and Naval Service (SENAN, in Spanish) seized more than 3.7 tons of cocaine in four operations conducted in Panamanian waters. On October 6, while patrolling north of Colón Island, Bocas del Toro province, SENAN agents seized 1,833 kilograms of cocaine in [ … ]
Russia’s Private Military Companies: A Threat to Latin America
Private military companies, or PMCs, are legally established international firms that operate as independent corporations, trading military and paramilitary services. In recent years, Russia has taken a leading role using PMCs as an extension of its Armed Forces to advance its foreign policy objectives. The United States Congressional Research Service [ … ]
Authorities Follow the Trail of Alex Saab, Nicolás Maduro’s Front Man
The Colombian Office of the Attorney General seized assets valued at $9.8 million from Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman and Nicolás Maduro’s front man, CNN reported on October 17, 2020. Authorities seized two properties in Barranquilla and Cartagena and three companies that Saab used for money laundering, the report says. [ … ]
New River Base and National Force Agents Strengthen Fight Against Crimes in Brazil’s Amazonas
In two months of work, Brazilian police officers and military personnel from Arpão Base have seized drugs and other goods with an estimated value of about $900,000. Cocaine and coca base paste, marijuana, live turtles, and reptile eggs were some of the items seized. Arpão Base is a new project, [ … ]
Costa Rica Dismantles Gang Linked to Sinaloa Cartel
Costa Rican authorities reported that, in several interagency operations, they dismantled a gang that operated in the country’s north and worked together with the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel. “[The operation] relates to a criminal group based in our country that had a direct relationship with the Sinaloa Cartel and that was [ … ]
Bolivia: Narcotics Agents Seize 5 Narco-aircraft
Bolivia’s Special Force against Drug Trafficking (FELCN, in Spanish) seized five light narco-aircraft during three counternarcotics operations conducted in Beni department in September. “During Operation Hive [Operación Colmena], we seized 288 kilograms [of cocaine], in addition to 180 grams of cocaine hydrochloride, 180 liters of fuel, a ranch called Nuevo [ … ]
Peruvian Armed Forces Report Operations Against Organized Crime
In operations carried out September 8-21, the Peruvian Armed Forces dealt several blows to narcotrafficking and illegal mining. On September 21, thanks to intelligence gathered by an elite group of the Peruvian National Police, service members found 433 kilograms of cocaine buried in Huanta province, Ayacucho department, as reported by [ … ]
China’s Global Military Posture: Places, not Bases
On the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), August 1, 2017, China opened its first overseas naval base in the eastern African country of Djibouti. Questions regarding China’s future intentions quickly ensued: Would China open another such facility? If so, where and how soon? Though [ … ]
What is the Impact of China’s ‘Predatory’ Loans to Latin America?
Over the last 10 years, China has flooded Latin America with money, with more than $117 billion in loans, making the region one of the world’s most indebted to the Chinese government. The conditions of these loans, which some politicians have described as predatory, worry economists. Latin America, along with [ … ]