Latin America Security by the Numbers Share This /

This post was compiled by WOLA Intern Michael Pelzer.

• The defense minister of Guatemala, Manuel López Ambrosio, announced on October 7th that the army will maintain its ranks at 18,000 troops, with 4,000 of them slated for roles supporting the National Police. López Ambrosio defends the use of the military in quelling crime, claiming that there are widespread requests by both mayors and the general population for their use.

• The government of Honduras plans to spend $30 million on a modern radar system capable of 360-degree detection of airplanes suspected of transporting narcotics. Honduran Defense Minister Marlon Pascua has indicated that the country is looking at systems from Israel, Ukraine, Argentina, Spain, Holland, and France. The Hondurans had previously operated off of information provided by U.S. forces stationed in the area; however Washington withdrew its intelligence sharing after numerous incidents of Honduran forces shooting down civilian planes.

• The number of citizens of Guatemala deported from the United States has reached a record 41,000 so far this year. The entirety of 2012 saw the deportation of 40,647 Guatemalans.

• Migrant rescues along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona are up 50% since 2011. Explanations for the trend include better cell service in the Arizona desert as well as a change in strategy for illegally entering the United States, with migrants taking more dangerous routes to avoid detection. 911 operators are often the first to interact with the lost migrants and must determine their location in order to send help. The rescue trend may also indicate that the number of migrants who died in the desert on U.S. soil also increased this year.

• A recent report puts the number of homicides in Mexico since December 2012 at over 15,000, with a projected 17,000 in total for the year. Were this projection to hold true it would be the lowest murder total since 2009. The issue with these data, however is that “murders reported in criminal investigations goes to the Secretaria de Gobernacion, and death certificates that show murder as the cause of death go to the Instituto Nacional De Estadistica Y Geografia.”

• Mexico authorities arrested 13 federal police officers on October 8th on suspicion of involvement in a kidnapping ring. The group is allegedly responsible for four kidnappings and at least seven murders.

• Five years and $2 billion in U.S. aid later, the government of Mexico admits is falling short on its promise to reform its federal and local police forces. The program calls for an in depth vetting of current and future officers, including background checks and polygraphs, with those that did not meet the requirements to be removed from the police force. Of 36,000 federal, state, and local officers who failed vetting tests, fewer than a third have been fired.

• A 600-man detachment of the Navy of the People’s Liberation Army of China arrived in Chile on October 7th. The visit was part of a five day visit to strengthen bilateral relationships and military ties between the two Pacific trading countries.

• The cost of crime in Chile has risen 172% between 2000 and 2012, according to the “Libertad y Desarrollo” think-tank, with the 2012 cost comprising roughly 2.23% of GDP. In an attempt to curb rising crime rates, the government has increased security sector spending by nearly 188%.

• In Brazil, police and military Special Forces began their 35th pacification operation in the favelas in and around Rio de Janeiro. The operation plans to target a dozen of the shanty towns in the Lins complex, in an attempt to drive out drug dealers and other criminals. Due to numerous abuses, the Pacifying Police Units (UPP) are often looked upon with skepticism by residents, although many are still optimistic that they can improve their lives. The pacification program comes in preparation for the 2014 World Cup Championships being held in Rio.

• In Brazil, An additional 15 police officers have been charged in the murder of Amarildo Dias de Souza, a bricklayer who disappeared in July from Rio de Janeiro’s Rocinha favela. Mr. Dias de Souza’s high-profile case has been a black eye for the Rio state government’s highly touted Favela Pacification Program.

• On October 9th a joint operation by Dominican Republic and U.S. forces ended in the seizure of 1,110 kilograms of cocaine. The pursuit lasted nearly an hour and ended in the arrest of three traffickers.

• The recent seizure of four tons of cocaine in Ecuador signals that trafficking within the country is on the rise. With the addition of these two raids, the past nine months have seen 38 tons of cocaine seized, although estimates by the American Police Community claim that nearly 120 tons of cocaine are transferred through the country each year. The high volume of captured narcotics could also signify a higher interdiction rate.

• In Colombia, ELN guerillas operating near the Venezuelan border have claimed that they have conducted more than 50 attacks targeting security forces and oil infrastructure. The ELN claim they will continue the attacks until the government agrees to negotiate an oil tax of $10 per barrel to compensate for claimed damage caused by petroleum exploitation.

• Officials in Panama have stated that they will release 33 of the 35 crew members captured on a boat transporting weapons from Cuba to North Korea. The freighter ship was concealing, under a shipment of sugar, MIG fighter jets, spare parts, and anti aircraft missiles bound for North Korea, in apparent violation of United Nations Security Council sanctions.

• A seizure in Peru of four tons of cocaine is one of the country’s largest in recent years. It indicates Peru’s growing role as a supplier to the European market. The cocaine was seized in Paita, one of Peru’s largest international ports, and was believe to be destined for Lithuania.