http://www.dialogo-americas.com Diálogo is a professional military magazine published quarterly by the Commander of the United States Southern Command as an international forum for military personnel in Latin America. en_GB Colombia’s sprawling capital city is on high alert following two separate but possibly related bomb attacks Tuesday. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/17/bogota-bombing At a three-day forum in Guatemala that began on May 15, delegates from the Armed Forces and the police of 14 countries are analyzing human-rights policy in the strategy to fight organized crime in Central America. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/17/feature-ex-3151 Since the end of April, Honduran Military personnel have been participating in a National Vaccination Campaign, in support of the Honduran Public Health Ministry. The objective of this campaign is to motivate citizens to get vaccinated in order to prevent diseases such as measles and rubella, among others. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/17/feature-ex-3152 At least 1.3 million dollars were found on a small plane that crashed in western Ecuador on May 13, causing the deaths of its two Mexican crew members, who are believed to have been carrying out a drug-trafficking operation, the police announced on May 15. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/17/feature-ex-3153 On May 15, the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) urged the countries of the region to ratify an Arms Trade Treaty that the UN has been promoting since 2006, aimed at eradicating illegal trafficking, the organization announced in a statement. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/17/feature-ex-3154 Peruvian President Ollanta Humala swore in three new ministers on May 14, amid questioning of the administration’s strategy against the Shining Path guerrilla group. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/17/feature-ex-3155 Two people were killed and 17 injured in the Colombian capital May 15, when a bomb exploded in what President Juan Manuel Santos said was an assassination attempt against a former interior minister. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/16/feature-ex-3146 The Chilean Navy’s OPV Comandante Toro was welcomed at Peru’s Callao Naval Base on May 13 by a delegation from that South American country’s Navy. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/16/feature-ex-3147 The Guatemalan government has decided to use agents from the Army’s Kaibil special forces to curb the incursion of drug cartels into Guatemalan territory, Military spokesperson Colonel Rony Urízar announced. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/16/feature-ex-3149 Joint actions by the Armed Forces, with the support of law enforcement, have made it possible for arrests of members of irregular organizations to increase by about 20 percent so far this year, compared to the previous year. The demobilization of 392 people is another notable figure. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/16/feature-ex-3150 The American Soldier is equipped with more capabilities than ever before. These capabilities come in the form of new and more powerful devices that translate to a need for more power. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/technology/2012/05/16/feature-ex-3148 Argentine Gendarmes (Military police) seized 840 kilograms of extremely pure cocaine that was being transported on a truck coming from Peru on May 10, Security Minister Nilda Garré announced at a press conference. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/15/feature-ex-3140 Com comunicados assinados das “montanhas da Colômbia”, páginas da internet e até mesmo em uma conta do Twitter, os guerrilheiros das FARC também atuam na rede, um espaço que está mais conturbado do que nunca desde que o grupo capturou o repórter francês Romeo Langlois, no dia 28 de abril. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/15/feature-ex-3141 Centenas de policiais e soldados, apoiados por veículos militares de artilharia, montaram uma ampla operação em uma zona popular da capital guatemalteca, quando detiveram 13 supostos membros da temida quadrilha Mara 18, informou em 12 de maio uma fonte oficial. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/15/feature-ex-3143 Os gastos militares em toda a América do Sul dobraram nos últimos cinco anos, embora não haja uma evidente corrida armamentista, segundo um relatório publicado por um grupo regional no dia 11 de maio. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/15/feature-ex-3144 A Red Cross official announced on May 13 that the narco-terrorists holding French journalist Romeo Langlois hostage since April 28 said they will free him. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/15/feature-ex-3145 Governmental institutions, private enterprise and civil society join efforts to guarantee the safety of tourists nationwide. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/14/feature-01 Four months into the launching of Operation Martillo, over 15 nations working together have persistently targeted illicit trafficking along Central America’s waters, disrupting more than 30 metric tons of drugs and detaining over 50 people. In an interview with Diálogo, during the Central American Security Conference (CANSEC 2012) in April, the director of U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force – South (JIATF-S) said that the success of Operación Martillo lies in the tightness of its partners: “If there is a weak partner, that’s where the traffickers are going to go. It’s absolutely essential for all of us to stand together.” http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/14/feature-ex-3135 An alliance between the Ministry of National Defense and the Colombian Reintegration Agency has given rise to a clothing brand that is now a sustainable alternative for demobilized former members of irregular armed groups. Eighty-two items of clothing form part of the collection with which the brand is being launched. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/14/feature-ex-3137 A group of four minors, including a 12-year old, in addition to a 30-year-old man, who acted as informants for the Los Zetas cartel, have been arrested in Apodaca, a locality in northern Mexico, the State Investigation Agency announced on May 10. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/14/feature-ex-3139 The Western Hemisphere’s most vital commercial waterway is undergoing a historic makeover. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/14/panama-canal-security Panama’s Darién province is often characterized in one of two ways: the country's most beautiful province or its most dangerous. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/14/panama-darien For a long time, self-defense was seen merely as one part of the process of training security professionals, in either the public or private sector. However, with the passage of time, in view of the evolution of crime and its perpetrators, we now find ourselves faced with a growing need for technical improvement in the area of self-defense. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/special_reports/2012/05/14/feature-ex-3136 Following a meeting held in Quito by the defense ministers of Argentina and Ecuador, Arturo Puricelli and Miguel Carvajal, respectively, an agreement was reached to intensify bilateral cooperation in the area of aviation technology. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/technology/2012/05/14/feature-ex-3138 Brazil announced on May 9, it has shelved plans to build new nuclear power stations in the coming years in the wake of last year’s Fukushima disaster in Japan. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/11/feature-ex-3132 The opening ceremony for the 3rd Symposium of Navies from the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) took place on May 8, at the Naval War College in Rio de Janeiro, with the presence of Defense Minister Celso Amorim, and the commander of the Navy, Admiral Julio Soares de Moura Neto. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/11/feature-ex-3133 During a ceremony in Santiago on May 7, U.S. Army South joined its Chilean Army partners and 14 other partner nations for the official start of the Peacekeeping Operations-Americas (PKO-A) 2012 command post exercise (CPX). http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/11/feature-ex-3134 A Soldier treks through treacherous terrain in a dangerous combat zone with a rucksack filled with meals ready-to-eat, first-aid gear, weapons, ammunition, radios and batteries. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/technology/2012/05/11/feature-ex-3131 Nicaragua will create four police units specialized in counterintelligence, border security, rural policing, and tourism, one of which will focus on security along the country’s borders with Costa Rica and Honduras, the head of the National Police, Aminta Granera, announced on May 8. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/10/feature-ex-3127 Brazilian airplane manufacturer Embraer announced on May 8 that it will participate in the U.S. Air Force’s new bid for the purchase of light attack aircraft. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/10/feature-ex-3128 An Argentine man and a Brazilian woman have been arrested in northeastern Venezuela for alleged links to the trafficking of more than 200 kilograms of cocaine, the Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on May 8, adding that the two have been charged with transporting drugs. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/10/feature-ex-3129 The Ecuadorean government announced that the Armed Forces will continue to be in charge of security at the seat of Congress, a measure taken as a consequence of a police rebellion on September 30, 2010, the president’s office announced on May 8. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/10/feature-ex-3130 The Brazilian Army has launched a military operation to increase patrols in the Amazon and combat drug trafficking, arms smuggling, timber smuggling, and illegal mining along the country’s northern border, shared with four countries, the Defense Ministry announced on May 4. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/09/feature-ex-3122 On May 7, the Honduran authorities seized 400 kilos of cocaine in the remote region of La Mosquitia, in the department of Gracias a Dios, around 800 km northeast of the capital, the police announced. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/09/feature-ex-3123 On May 7, the Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim and his Turkish counterpart, Ismet Yilmaz, expressed both countries’ interest in “intensifying bilateral cooperation” in their area, chiefly through partnerships to develop a shared military-industrial base. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/09/feature-ex-3124 An alleged member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group was arrested in the Ecuadorean border province of Sucumbíos (in northeastern Ecuador) on May 7, the head of the general staff of the Ecuadorean Army’s 4th Division, Colonel Arturo Coral, announced to the local press. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/09/feature-ex-3125 Following months of negotiation, Colombian drug boss Javier Calle Serna turned himself in to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on May 4, on the island of Aruba, the Colombian police announced. http://www.dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/05/09/feature-ex-3126