The Brazilian government has increased patrol and surveillance on its border to stop the entry of drugs from neighboring countries. [caption id="attachment_40306" align="alignleft" width="300"] A-29 Super Tucano aircraft intercepted two aircraft carrying more than 1 ton of cocaine on the Brazilian border, on August 2, 2020. (Photo: Brazilian Federal Police)[/caption] One of [ … ]
Transnational Threats
Dominican Republic Strengthens Operations Against Organized Crime
The Dominican National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD, in Spanish) and the Dominican Armed Forces have strengthened operations against human trafficking, money laundering, and narcotrafficking. On September 16, 2020, the National Police led four simultaneous raids in different parts of the country to dismantle a human trafficking and money laundering network. [ … ]
Colombian Armed Forces Seize 8 Tons of Drugs
The Colombian Armed Forces seized 8 tons of drugs in several maritime and land operations, impacting the finances of criminals in the region. On August 21, the Colombian Military Forces’ General Command (CGFM, in Spanish) reported that authorities had detained a member of the National Liberation Army guerilla, who was [ … ]
Brazilian Air Force Officer Takes On Deputy Director Role at U.S. Southern Command
In late January 2020, upon bidding farewell to faculty and students of the Brazilian Air Force Academy, where he acted as commandant, Major General David Almeida Alcoforado knew that it also meant saying goodbye to his country, as he was about to assume the role of deputy director of Strategy, [ … ]
Disrupting the Illicit Economy that Sustains the Maduro Regime
Nicolás Maduro and his cronies remain in control in Venezuela despite intense diplomatic pressure to move to a democratic transition, economic sanctions, and international recognition of Juan Guaidó as the acting president of Venezuela since January 23, 2019. The Maduro regime oppresses the population, destroyed the legitimate economy, engages in [ … ]
How Maduro Has Destroyed Life Inside Venezuela
The weak governance, oppression, and corruption of the illegitimate regime headed by Nicolás Maduro have caused widespread economic suffering and the collapse of society in Venezuela. The 2019-2020 National Survey of Living Conditions (ENCOVI, in Spanish) — published by researchers at Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas — details how [ … ]
Colombian Navy Seizes Nearly 3 Tons of Cocaine in 1 Day
The Colombian Navy dealt another harsh blow to transnational narcotrafficking by seizing 2,829 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride in four operations, carried out on August 5, 2020, in the departments of Antioquia, Chocó, and Tumaco. The Navy told the press that troops assigned to the Caribbean Naval Force had seized 1,814 [ … ]
Paraguayan Criminal Group Accused of Recruiting Minors and Kidnapping
The Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP, in Spanish) criminal group has been carrying out a series of crimes, mainly in the Northern region of the country. The small group was created in 2008, but some of its current members have been conducting clandestine and criminal activities since the 1990s, representing the [ … ]
Brazilian Police Operation Arrests More Than 400 People Linked to Narcotrafficking
On August 31, about 1,100 Brazilian Federal Police agents (PF, in Portuguese) launched the second phase of Operation Safe Box (Operação Caixa Forte), the country’s largest operation that has ever been carried out against criminal organizations. The operation, which was conducted in 72 cities, executed 422 arrest warrants and 201 [ … ]
Panama: Security Forces Intensify Fight Against Narcotrafficking
Panamanian security forces have dealt successive blows to narcotrafficking. In August alone, the Panamanian Air and Naval Service (SENAN, in Spanish) carried out 10 counternarcotics operations, seizing 3,516 packages of cocaine and 248 of marijuana, SENAN said in a press release. Authorities captured some of the packages 10 miles off [ … ]
Peruvian Navy Seizes More Than 1 Ton of Marijuana
On August 23, the Peruvian Navy (MGP, in Spanish), through the Iquitos Port Captaincy, seized more than 1 ton of marijuana in a riverine operation on the Napo River, Loreto department. During the operation, the MGP said in a press release, a confrontation took place with armed individuals, leaving one [ … ]
Pompeo Condemns Maduro Government’s ‘Safe Haven, Aid, and Comfort’ to Terrorist Groups
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo again condemned the actions of dictator Nicolás Maduro, on September 19, which according to him protect terrorist organizations. During a virtual press conference held with Colombian President Iván Duque, following the U.S. secretary of State’s visit to the Colombian Presidential Palace, Pompeo said that [ … ]