The C-Lion1 telecommunications cable is laid in the Baltic Sea by cable ship Ile de Brehat on the shore of Helsinki, Finland, on October 12, 2015. REUTERS REUTERS European governments have accused Russia of escalating hybrid attacks on Ukraine’s Western allies as Baltic nations investigated whether the cutting of two fiber-optic telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea in mid-November 2024 was sabotage. “Moscow’s escalating hybrid activities against NATO and EU countries are also unprecedented in their variety and scale, creating significant security risks,” the statement signed by the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland said. Europe needs…
The Watch
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration said in November 2024 it will continue the policy of removing migrants from the border with the U.S. and relocate them to southern Mexico. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF Mexico will continue to enforce its policy to prevent migrants from reaching its northern border, the country’s foreign minister said shortly after the U.S. presidential election. Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said his country’s policy of transporting migrants approaching the border to southern Mexico — implemented nearly a year ago — has yielded impressive results. “It’s working well and we’re going to continue on…
Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, speaks at the National Guard Adjutants General conference at the Colorado National Guard’s 168th Regional Training Site at Fort Carson, Colorado, on October 29, 2024. At right is Air Force Gen. Steven Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau. SGT. 1ST CLASS ZACH SHEELY/U.S. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD The National Guard is an essential contributor to North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, Gen. Gregory Guillot told a gathering of National Guard leaders at Fort Carson, Colorado, on October 29, 2024. “The success…
Mexican Soldiers patrol Culiacán in September 2024. In November, Mexican Soldiers executed three operations near the U.S. border to arrest cartel members, seize guns and ammunition, and increase security. AFP/GETTY IMAGES The Watch Staff The Mexican Army and National Guard executed three high-risk operations across northern Mexico in November 2024, arresting a high-profile member of the Sinaloa cartel as part of a campaign that led to more than two dozen arrests. The operations also netted dozens of automatic weapons, thousands of rounds of ammunition and other evidence. The actions were the latest in a series of operations to combat transnational…
Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, left, incoming commander of U.S. Southern Command, takes the command guidon from Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III during the SOUTHCOM change-of-command ceremony in Doral, Florida, on November 7, 2024. Holsey assumed command from Army Gen. Laura Richardson, who is retiring after 38 years of service. ERICA BECHARD/U.S. SOUTHERN COMMAND THE WATCH STAFF Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III stressed the power of U.S. partnerships “rooted in our shared values of democracy, human rights and opportunity for all” as he led the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) change-of-command ceremony November 7, 2024, in Doral, Florida. During…
Military vehicles during combat shooting as part of the Resolute Warrior exercise. During the maneuver, the multinational NATO brigade stationed in Latvia, which is now being formed, trained together at full strength for the first time. REUTERS THE WATCH STAFF Latvia marked a critical milestone in November 2024 as the Canadian-led NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia (MNB-LVA) conducted its first major exercise as a complete brigade. Exercise Resolute Warrior 2024 was held November 1-14, 2024, across central and northern Latvia. The MNB-LVA includes personnel from 13 member states, highlighting the alliance’s commitment to NATO’s central tenet of collective defense. Canada’s contributions to the brigade are…
North American Aerospace Defense Command fighter aircraft intercept a Chinese H-6 bomber off the coast of Alaska in July 2024. Two of the Chinese bombers were flying with two Russian bombers near Alaska in a sign of increasing Arctic cooperation between Beijing and Moscow. NORTH AMERICAN AEROSPACE DEFENSE COMMAND REUTERS The United States is watching growing cooperation between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia in the Arctic closely, and some of their recent military collaboration in the region sends “concerning signals,” the U.S. Arctic ambassador said. The PRC and Russia have stepped up military cooperation in the Arctic…
A worker unloads limes at a citrus packing plant in La Ruana in the state of Michoacan, Mexico. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Mexico has sent 660 Soldiers and militarized National Guard officers to the western state of Michoacan to protect lime growers who complained they were being extorted by cartels. The Defense Department said that since the start of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration on October 1, 300 Soldiers and 360 Guard officers have been sent to several lime-growing townships. In August, more than half of lime packing warehouses in the lowlands of Michoacan closed temporarily after growers and distributors said they had…
North Korea has sent about 15,000 troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine. A new alliance between the countries was struck in at a Pyongyang summit in June 2024. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF An estimated 15,000 North Korean troops engaged in their first combat with Ukrainian forces in November 2024. South Korea’s spy agency confirmed the first fighting by North Korean forces in the Kursk region of Russia, according to USA Today. The new military alliance between North Korea and Russia faces considerable obstacles, including untested and possibly ill-trained North Korean troops and a lack of any tradition of…
Crew members from the HMCS Yellowknife transfer bales of cocaine from the ship to a pier in the Port of San Diego in September 2024. CHIEF PETTY OFFICER LEVI READ/U.S. COAST GUARD THE WATCH STAFF The Canadian coastal defense vessels HMCS Edmonton and Yellowknife returned to their home port of Esquimalt, British Columbia, in September after carrying out a massive cocaine interdiction while on a seven-week deployment in Central America as part of Operation Caribbe. The Yellowknife’s crew, along with U.S. Coast Guard officers, seized about 1,400 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $60 million Canadian (more…