Mexican Navy crew members dock their vessel at the Bridgetown Port in Bridgetown, Barbados, in May 2024. The Mexican Navy has played a key role in stemming the flow of narcotics in North America. STAFF SGT. ELIZABETH BRYSON/U.S. ARMY THE WATCH STAFF Mexico’s Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR) continues to make great strides in its capabilities and capacity to fight against Mexican criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking. SEMAR has had consecutive record years of narcotic interdictions. In 2023, SEMAR recorded an all-time high in cocaine seizures, nearly surpassing the total amount seized in the previous four years combined, according…
The Watch
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Daniel Musso, a 57th Rescue Squadron Joint Terminal attack controller, participates in Nordic Response 24 in Moen, Norway. TECH SGT. JUSTIN CARNAHAN/U.S. AIR FORCE THE WATCH STAFF Russia has moved its military training exercises away from the Norwegian Sea into the Barents Sea around the Kola Peninsula, according to a study by Norwegian researchers and published by High North News, a Norwegian newspaper. The shift in Russian tactics remains shrouded in secrecy, but the study concluded that the most likely reason for conducting the exercises closer to home is to conserve fuel and ammunition for…
The U.S. is considering curbs on the People’s Republic of China’s ability to import sophisticated AI models. REUTERS REUTERS The United States is poised to open a new front to safeguard U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) technology from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia. The Commerce Department is considering a new push to restrict the export of proprietary or closed-source AI models, which have training software and data that are kept under wraps, three people familiar with the matter said. Any action would complement a series of measures over the last two years to block the export of sophisticated…
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gives a speech alongside Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, obscured, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, right, during the flag-raising ceremony for Sweden’s accession to NATO. AFP/GETTY IMAGES PER CONCORDIAM STAFF When Hungary’s National Assembly voted to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO on February 26, 2024, it ushered in a new era for European security and dealt another setback to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bid to forestall expansion of the Alliance. Sweden takes its place at the table as the Alliance’s 32nd member, following Finland, which became a member in April 2023. The Nordic…
DU Korbel Graduate Students participate in N3SP forum on national security and homeland defense. N3SP MAYA JOHNSON National security students from five Colorado universities gathered at the U.S. Air Force Academy in April 2024 to exchange ideas, increase awareness and foster cooperation in national security and strategic studies. The 2024 National Security Strategic Studies Partnership Forum (N3SP) also aimed to strengthen relations between universities, military commands and key industries such as aerospace, cyber and defense within Colorado. This year’s forum included five panels and a session featuring research by both graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Colorado at…
Finnish Soldiers from the Finnish-Swedish Division ride the Leopard 2A6, a third-generation German main battle tank, during a border crossing demonstration by Swedish and Finnish troops as part of the NATO Nordic Response 24 military exercise on March 9, 2024. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened retaliation against Finland after the Nordic country applied to join NATO in 2022 — a decision that reversed decades of nonalignment. Finland applied for NATO membership following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and Putin’s saber-rattling against Finland isn’t having its desired effect. Recent analyses indicate that Russia doesn’t…
Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon officially opens the Andøya SpacePort in November 2023. NORWEGIAN GOVERNMENT THE WATCH STAFF The United States and Norway will build an Arctic satellite station to defend the Scandinavian country and its NATO allies from potential aggression over the northern approaches. The station will be designed to detect cruise missiles and adds another layer of globally integrated layered defense (GILD) to maintain the international rules-based order. The proposed station will be located at Andøya Air Station, which Norway also recently designated as a base for long-range surveillance drones. “The establishment of the satellite station at the Andøya…
The Chinese Cosco Shipping Rose container ship sails near the new Cocoli locks in the Panama Canal in 2018. China has increasingly exerted financial influence in the country. AFP/GETTY IMAGES DIÁLOGO AMERICAS Nearly 6% of global trade and 57.5% of the cargo transported in containers that ship from Asia to the East Coast of the United States passes through the Panama Canal. Today, this important infrastructure is the focus of great concern in political, economic and academic sectors given the growing presence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). “China has turned Panama into a geographic and commercial concentration center…
Members of the U.S. and Mexican militaries transport a simulated earthquake victim during Fuerzas Amigas 2024 in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Fuerzas Amigas is an annual disaster response exercise between the U.S. and Mexican militaries. CATHRYN LINDSAY/U.S. AIR FORCE THE WATCH STAFF A contingent of U.S. forces traveled to Juarez, Mexico, in June 2024 to train with their Mexican counterparts in the latest iteration of Fuerzas Amigas, a natural-disaster response exercise. The five-day exercise provided training in disaster response operations and performed the equally important tasks of fostering closer ties to a critical partner at the U.S. southern border and developing…
Finland, one of NATO’s newest members, has been the target of aggressive Russian tactics since it joined the trans-Atlantic alliance in 2023. On June 10, 2024 , four Russian warplanes breached Finnish airspace. AFP/GETTY IMAGES The Watch Staff Four Russian warplanes breached Finnish airspace for the first time since the Nordic country joined NATO in 2023, leading Finland to launch an investigation. The four planes — two bombers and two fighters — spent only a few minutes in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland near the city of Loviisa on the morning of June 10, 2024, according to…