Latin America and Caribbean

  • Brazil’s participation in international cooperation in Mine Action

    April 17, 2024

    Although Brazilian territory is not affected by these threats, Brazil has not been left out of the global effort to eliminate mines and explosive threats and has become a signatory to the Ottawa Treaty. In compliance with Article 6 of the Ottawa Treaty, Brazil has participated in international cooperation and assistance in Mine Action since the ...

  • Brazilian government launches programme to improve security at airports

    June 22, 2023

    On Wednesday, 21 June, the federal government launched a programme to improve passenger and baggage security at Brazilian airports. The programme, called Airports + Security (Aeroportos + Seguros), includes, among other measures, the installation of new X-ray equipment and scanners, more cameras in the check-in area, more thorough baggage screening and the use of liquid ...

  • Ecuador police deactivate explosive device taped to guard

    March 30, 2023

    Police successfully deactivated a vest-like explosive device Thursday that an unknown number of people allegedly had taped to the chest of a security guard at a jewelry store in Ecuador’s main port city. The guard was uninjured. Authorities would question him to try to locate any suspects, said Francesco Tabacchi, governor of the state of Guayas, ...

  • Colombia: Militants kill 9 soldiers in attack in Norte de Santander state

    March 29, 2023

    Militants in Colombia killed nine soldiers and wounded nine others in an attack early Wednesday on a military unit securing a northern pipeline, officials said, complicating efforts by the country’s new leftist president to negotiate a lasting peace. The assailants attacked with long-range weapons and improvised explosive devices in El Carmen, in Norte de Santander state ...

  • Colombia: Civilians face heightened danger from landmines

    February 22, 2023

    Berna Nastacuas Pai held a dangerous job as a member of a patrol that guards his Indigenous Awa community in southern Colombia. His duty, to inspect the El Gran Sabalo Reservation for security breaches, exposed him to armed rebels and criminal gangs engaged in battles over drug routes. Recently, he had reduced his rounds as the ...

  • Brazil: Man carrying explosive device and knife arrested, military police say

    January 1, 2023

    A man carrying an explosive device and a knife has been arrested while attempting to enter the inauguration of Brazil’s new president, according to military police. The man was trying to enter Brasilia’s esplanade for the inauguration of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, according to a spokesperson from the city’s military police force. As many as ...