U.S. Ships MQ-9 Reaper Drones to Colombia to Expand Counter-Narcotics Campaign
The U.S. has moved a small number of MQ-9 Reaper drones from Africa to Colombia and Ecuador as it expands its military campaign against drug-trafficking groups in South America, The New York Times reported Oct. 6.
The surveillance and strike-capable aircraft are already operating in Ecuador, where two drones are reportedly in service, and Colombia has announced an agreement for three on loan plus a fourth it will buy.
SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis Donovan said plans include widening operations “from maritime vessel attacks to land-based operations,” while legal experts and human rights advocates question the legal basis for lethal strikes on suspected traffickers.
U.S. & Argentine Marines Conduct Cold-Weather Mountain Training in Ushuaia
USHUAIA — U.S. and Argentine Marines trained together in extreme cold and mountain terrain in Ushuaia, in Tierra del Fuego. The exercise ran September 8–22 and involved eight instructors from the U.S. Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center and Argentina's Marine Infantry Battalion No. 4.
U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South said the training strengthened mobility, emergency response and small-unit coordination, while critics, including Rio Grande Mayor Martín Pérez, Peronist Senator Cristina López and Andrés Dachary are asking what legal authorization covered the foreign troops, since Argentine law requires congressional approval for them to enter the country.
Costa Rica Finishes Bukele-Style Mega-Prison For 5,100 Inmates
SAN JOSÉ — Costa Rica completes construction of the Center for High Containment against Organized Crime (CACCO), a high-security prison modeled on El Salvador’s CECOT that authorities plan to open October 14.
The facility in San Rafael de Alajuela is designed for 5,100 inmates, mostly organized-crime leaders and violent offenders, at a reported cost of about $35 million.
President Laura Fernández calls Nayib Bukele a security benchmark in Latin America. Details remain unclear as to which inmates will be moved first, how many guards will staff the prison and how independent monitors will inspect it.
From the Donbas to Mexico’s Drug War: Cartels Sends Fighters to Learn Drone Warfare in Ukraine
Reports say members of Mexican and Colombian criminal groups are going to Ukraine to learn drone warfare. Milenio, citing a Mexican intelligence document, reported that Jalisco and Sinaloa cartel members posed as volunteers to train on FPV drones.
The Financial Times reported that Colombian armed groups want the same skills, and the Washington Post reported, citing six unnamed officials, that Mexican cartels are recruiting Colombian veterans of the Ukraine war for their drone expertise.
Now, a viral clip showing foreign mercenaries, likely Mexican, Colombia, and Panamanian fighters on the eastern front, publicly proclaiming affiliation to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
🎥 Watch for yourself ⬇🇲🇽 🇺🇦💀💀
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