LATIN AMERICAN LAWFARE
On Monday, March 8th, Bolivia’s former president and leader of the coca federations, Evo Morales, took a surprise trip to Buenos Aires. Less than a week later, former President Jeanine Añez was arrested.
NEW COVID-19 VACCINE “COLD WAR” IN LATIN AMERICA
In late 2019, Russia, Iran, and China carried out, for the first time-ever, a joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman as tensions heated up between Tehran and Washington.
TRUMP TO BIDEN: AMERICA FIRST POLICIES AIMED AT WEAKENING FOREIGN ADVERSARIES
In the final weeks of the Trump administration, several last-minute policy actions are taken to weaken the VRIC alliance worldwide. Returning Cuba to the State Sponsor of Terrorism list.
THE BOLIVARIAN NETWORK IS RESURGING IN SOUTH AMERICA
The contested U.S. election has left a short-term vacuum for the VRIC to advance its interests in the Americas. The weekend after the U.S. election, representatives from VRIC nations arrived in La Paz for the inauguration of President Arce.
CHANGES TO LATIN AMERICAN SECURITY LANDSCAPE POST-OCTOBER 18
In September, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) became a political battleground for Great Power Competition. Iran and Venezuela received both the scorn from some Western nations and solidarity from others aligned with the VRIC.
POTENTIAL IRANIAN MISSILE TRANSFER TO MADURO AS UN ARMS EMBARGO SET TO LIFT
During a virtual forum at the Atlantic Council in mid-August, the head of U.S. Southern Command, Admiral Craig Faller, said Latin America was “under assault by a vicious circle of threats,” with external state actors as the center of gravity.
IRAN TAKES TO THE SEAS TO PROP UP VENEZUELA’S MADURO REGIME
Iran’s increased maritime engagement in the Western Hemisphere is causing concern for U.S. officials closely monitoring and blocking some of this activity. This relatively new problem set is poking at specific chinks in the armor of U.S. sanctions.
THE “BOLIVARIAN FURY” ARRIVES IN THE U.S.
The VRIC is forming a “Bolivarian Shield” around Venezuela to resist sanctions pressure, deflect blame for the humanitarian and economic crisis, and delegitimize the U.S. in Latin America. As the Trump administration continues its “maximum pressure”.
IRAN COMES OUT OF THE SHADOWS IN VENEZUELA
As the COVID-19 pandemic took center stage, the Venezuela conflict, and its long stalemate, was left on the back burner. That is, until early May, when a group of Venezuelan military defectors and two former American Green Berets.
COMBATTING COVID-19 PROPAGANDA IN LATIN AMERICA
In March, the world woke up to the global health pandemic that is COVID-19. While the public embraces new mitigation measures to slow the spread of the virus, most governments are in a war against an “invisible enemy”.
