Venezuela is no longer just a transit country for drugs, as Venezuelans are involved in the first phases of cocaine production, Venezuelan experts and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) said. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), a body of the United Nations (U.N.), said in its 2019 report, published February 27, 2020, [ … ]
Transnational Threats
US Announces New Counterdrug Operation In Latin America and the Caribbean
U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by top officials including Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced a massive new “counter-narcotics operation” in the Latin America and Caribbean region. “As nations around the world focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, [ … ]
Venezuelan Generals and the Cartel of the Suns
In Latin America, criminal cartels, have traditionally run drug trafficking. In Venezuela, this activity is managed within the government. Under the regime of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s position in the global cocaine business will increase. U.S. Navy Admiral Craig S. Faller, commander of U.S Southern Command, in a November 28, 2019 [ … ]
US Charges Maduro with Drug Trafficking, Offers $15 Million Reward for Information Leading to His Capture
The United States announced a $15 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro on drug-trafficking charges, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on March 26. Pompeo announced the reward as the Justice Department unveiled charges against Maduro, indicting him and top members of his regime for [ … ]
US Sanctions Nicaraguan Police
On March 5 the United States slapped sanctions on Nicaragua’s National Police and three top police commissioners for what it calls serious human rights abuses against anti-government demonstrators. “The [Daniel] Ortega regime has utilized the Nicaraguan National Police as a tool in its campaign of violent repression against the Nicaraguan [ … ]
Iran’s Regime is a Threat to International Financial System, Group Says
Iran needs to be essentially blacklisted from participating in the international financial system after the regime refused to implement restrictions against terrorist financing, an international watchdog group said February 21. The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had given Iran’s regime a February deadline to enact restrictions against money laundering [ … ]
Regional Cooperation Essential to Combatting Hezbollah Threat in Latin America
The III Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial Summit highlighted the need for countries of the region to work jointly to wipe out terrorist cells, especially those belonging to Lebanese movement Hezbollah and the Colombian guerrilla National Liberation Army (ELN, in Spanish). The countries signatories to the statement that resulted from the [ … ]
Beyond the Pale: Iranian Regime’s Pattern of Depravity
Ever since Islamic fundamentalists overthrew Iran’s government in 1979, the world has witnessed acts of aggression against other nations and peoples — and against the Iranian people themselves. From attacks on embassies — the very symbol of diplomacy and peaceful relations between nations — to hostage-taking, the murder of exiles [ … ]
Nicaragua: Paramilitaries Spread Terror with Kidnappings
Nicaraguan paramilitary and vigilante groups carry out kidnappings and keep their victims locked in clandestine cells, Roberto Orozco, a Nicaraguan security and organized crime adviser, told Diálogo. They are the public face of repression. Their main goal is to send a message of fear throughout the population to protect the [ … ]
The World Confronts Terror of Iran-Backed Hezbollah
Countries around the world are taking on Hezbollah, designating the Iranian regime’s top proxy as a terrorist group, imposing sanctions and arresting operatives. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the Third Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial in Bogotá, Colombia, January 20 that these new designations, many by Central and South [ … ]
Report Outlines Beijing’s Global Media Manipulation
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spends billions of dollars a year on its foreign propaganda and censorship efforts, including presenting state-owned outlets as independent journalism, according to a new report. Beijing’s Global Megaphone, a new report from Freedom House published January 14, details how Beijing uses propaganda, censorship, and content [ … ]
Research: Displacement of Venezuelans to Surpass that of Syrians
Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis is on the verge of surpassing that of Syrian refugees, and could become the largest crisis in modern history within a few months, a research study from the Brookings Institution indicates. The study, published December 9, makes the comparison: 4.6 million Venezuelans have abandoned their country to [ … ]