DIÁLOGO AMERICAS ILLUSTRATION DIÁLOGO AMERICAS In its recent report, “The Fifth Wave,” think tank Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime warns of the transformation of organized crime. In addition to reaching new levels of sophistication thanks to drones and artificial intelligence, criminal networks are increasingly infiltrating legal markets. According to the report, in the future “markets will be murky and traditional distinctions between the licit and the illicit will be less discernible. Legal businesses and criminal enterprises could become indistinguishable from one another.” A significant example in Latin America is that of Brazil. According to the Brazilian Forum on Public Security,…
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A variant of the C-130 warplane, the LC-130 Hercules or “Skibird,” landed on ice in March 2025 in the Canadian Arctic, the first such landing in decades. U.S. AIR NATIONAL GUARD THE WATCH STAFF A U.S. Air Force LC-130, or “Skibird,” landed on ice in March 2025, signaling a new approach to operational flexibility in harsh Arctic conditions. The New York Air National Guard landed the plane on freshwater ice, the first such maneuver in decades, during an exercise designed to test Arctic force projection in Canada’s Northwest Territories. The Skibird, a variant of the Air Force’s transport workhorse, the…
A cargo ship sails past the Panama Canal’s Port of Balboa, managed by CK Hutchison Holdings, in Panama City on March 13, 2025. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE WATCH STAFF Panama has notified China that it is pulling out of its One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, the communist country’s expansive infrastructure and investment program. Panama was the first Latin American country to join OBOR, in November 2017, and now it is the first to leave. On February 6, 2025, Panama’s government notified China of a 90-day notice of withdrawal from OBOR, Newsweek reported. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said the…
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a $4.2 billion radar purchase from Australia while visiting the Canadian Arctic in March 2025. CANADIAN PRESS VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on March 25 announced a radar purchase from Australia and an expansion of military operations in the Arctic while visiting Canada’s far north. The prime minister’s office said the $4.2 billion Over-the-Horizon Radar system will provide early warning radar coverage from the Canada-United States border into the Arctic. Carney announced the purchase at a military base in the capital of the Inuit-governed territory of Nunavut…
This intercepted vessel was transporting 234 males and 43 females, including a minor. ROYAL TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS POLICE FORCE THE WATCH STAFF In an operation supported by forces from three nations, hundreds of Haitian migrants on a boat that was overloaded and unfit for travel were intercepted about 15 miles south of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), on the night of March 14, 2025. A United States Air Support (USAS) Unit conducting routine aerial surveillance detected the vessel and notified the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF). The RTCIPF Marine Branch dispatched two response vessels: the…
Mexican National Guard members carry a ladder they found while on patrol along the Mexico-U.S. border in Ciudad Juarez in February 2025. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE WATCH STAFF The commander of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the Mexican national defense secretary have agreed to undertake cooperative patrols along the Mexico-U.S. border. The meeting between Gen. Gregory M. Guillot and Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo underscored the increasing collaboration between the countries to secure the border and decrease illegal migration, gun trafficking and drug smuggling. The mutual security of the 3,145-kilometer border was the focus of the February 2025 conversation between Guillot…
A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bomber is stationed at Royal Air Force Fairford airfield in Fairford, England. It is part of a Bomber Task Force that flies missions in Europe. REUTERS REUTERS In a show of unity, U.S. and British commanders said March 11 that joint military exercises are vital for providing Europe with a deterrent to Russia. Air Marshal Johnny Stringer, the British officer serving as NATO’s deputy air commander, and U.S. Eighth Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost joined forces to praise the Bomber Task Force, which had completed nine missions in Europe since the start…
A Russian serviceman stands guard by a military truck on the island of Alexandra Land, which is part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the Arctic. Russia has sought to restore its Arctic primacy by repairing and upgrading military facilities. AFP/GETTY IMAGES DR. CHARLES E. MORRISON In my elementary school days, textbooks portrayed the Arctic as an icy region inhabited by friendly Eskimos living in igloos amid polar bears, walruses and seals. In more recent decades, a new narrative appeared of the region, with melting sea ice providing access to new trade routes and resources. This has led to…
A U.S. Navy Sailor with Combat Logistics Battalion 2, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, participates in an ice breakthrough event in preparation for Exercise Joint Viking 25 in Setermoen, Norway, on February 7, 2025. The exercise demonstrates the Marine Corps’ unique ability to rapidly deploy during a crisis and aims to enhance interoperability between the U.S. Marine Corps and NATO allies and partners. SGT. ANTONINO MAZZAMUTO/U.S. MARINE CORPS THE WATCH STAFF U.S. Marines are used to serving in harsh conditions, but going from the mild late winter of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to the icy, rugged mountains…
The Skyraider II soon will arrive in support of U.S. Air Force Special Operations, providing an update to a classic close-ground support and surveillance model that saw service in the Korean and Vietnam wars. U.S. AIR FORCE THE WATCH STAFF An updated version of a Vietnam-era surveillance and precision strike warplane could be deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border, a U.S. Air Force general said in February 2025. The OA-1K or Skyraider II provides a 21st century update to the Skyraider, which earned two Medals of Honor for Air Force pilots during the 1960s. The Skyraider II is a cost-effective crewed…