Latin America Daily Security Brief

Cuba's government announced May 14 that it has exhausted its oil reserves, triggering a full grid collapse that plunged eastern provinces into a major blackout, according to AP and CNN. The crisis has been building since January, when the Trump administration cut off Venezuelan oil shipments as part of a broader pressure campaign, and the last donated Russian oil is now running out.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana on Thursday in a rare direct visit, meeting with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro — known as 'Raulito,' the 94-year-old Raúl Castro's grandson — to deliver President Trump's message that Washington is 'prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes,' per a CIA official cited by CBS News.

CBS News also reported Thursday that the U.S. is moving to indict Raúl Castro himself, a significant escalation in legal pressure. Secretary of State Rubio simultaneously called Cuba's communist system 'broken,' even as the diplomatic back-channel remained open, illustrating the sharp contradictions in Washington's approach.

Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla said Havana is 'considering' a U.S. offer of $100 million in humanitarian aid to be distributed through the Catholic Church and other NGOs. President Díaz-Canel has signaled openness to the offer. One political prisoner was released May 12 amid the negotiations, according to reporting from Al Jazeera.

The U.S. reopened its embassy in Havana, nearly three months after the Maduro abduction operation in January that severed hemispheric diplomatic norms. Cubans on the street are expressing open frustration with their government, with social media posts circulating under the phrase 'Throw in the Towel, We Can't Take Anymore.'

Violent clashes erupted in La Paz on May 14 as mining cooperatives and rural unions marched on the government palace, setting off small dynamite sticks in the streets while police responded with tear gas, per AP and Reuters. Miners attempted to breach the palace perimeter but were repelled.

Demonstrators are calling for the resignation of centrist President Rodrigo Paz, whose government is facing Bolivia's worst economic crisis in decades. The protest wave was initially triggered by farmers demanding the repeal of a land mortgage law, but has since expanded to include fuel shortages, low wages, and opposition to privatization.

Road blockades have spread beyond La Paz — major highways including in Apacheta were blocked as of May 13-14, restricting cargo movement and fuel distribution across the country. The blockades are compounding existing fuel shortages, creating a feedback loop that is accelerating the economic deterioration.

Armed groups firing on indigenous protesters in Cochabamba have also been reported in social media and regional outlets, though independent verification remains limited as of this writing. The situation across multiple cities suggests this is no longer a localized protest but a national-level political crisis.

The International Committee of the Red Cross published its 2025 annual report Thursday, calling Colombia's humanitarian situation the worst in a decade. At least 322,688 people were displaced in 2025 alone — double the 2024 figure. Norte de Santander, on the Venezuelan border, accounts for 67% of mass displacement; Cauca accounts for 46% of casualties from explosive devices.

Colombia's armed forces reported killing six FARC dissidents in combat operations along the Cauca-Huila border on May 14, per the Army's official social media. A separate simultaneous operation killed one additional armed group member and detained four others. The operations targeted the Isaías Pardo and Dagoberto Ramos fronts of the EMC dissident structure, commanded by Iván Mordisco.

Soldiers held captive by dissident groups in Cauca reappeared in proof-of-life videos Thursday, stating they feel 'abandoned by the state' and urging continued dialogue as the only path to their release. At least four security force members — including police and CTI investigators — remain held by the ELN in separate incidents from mid-2025.

InSight Crime reports that a Colombian court rejected President Petro's attempt to suspend arrest warrants for Gulf Clan (AGC/Gaitanistas) leaders as part of his 'Total Peace' initiative. The ruling is a significant legal setback for the Petro peace strategy and leaves Gulf Clan commanders in legal limbo as potential negotiations stall.

Armed groups are actively interfering with electoral preparations ahead of Colombia's upcoming elections. El País and El Colombiano report that armed actors are openly expressing candidate preferences in conflict zones, with the national registrar warning that 104 municipalities face security risks serious enough to compromise the vote.

President Daniel Noboa addressed the OAS Permanent Council in Washington on Thursday, claiming Ecuador faces 'a criminal army of more than 80,000 members' and framing the country's anti-narco offensive as a model for regional cooperation. He told an Atlantic Council event that resolving the drug problem at its origin is 'cheaper, better, and safer for Americans' than addressing it at the U.S. border.

Ecuadorian police arrested the leader of Los Lobos — identified as Fabricio Colón Pico, also referred to as 'Gómez' in some reporting — who controlled criminal operations in Quito, per La Nación and El Telégrafo. His partner, described as the logistics coordinator for the organization, was arrested simultaneously. Los Lobos has ties to CJNG and is one of the country's most powerful criminal structures, per InSight Crime.

A separate operation dismantled a money laundering network in Santa Elena and Guayas provinces connected to the broader 'Caso Odín' investigation, according to El Telégrafo. The simultaneous operations in Quito and the coastal provinces suggest coordinated law enforcement pressure on multiple criminal nodes at once.

Over 20 U.S. lawmakers sent a formal letter to Defense Secretary Hegseth demanding an immediate halt to joint Pentagon-Ecuador anti-drug operations in the northern border region, citing New York Times reporting that Ecuadorian forces tortured civilians and bombed a cattle farm with no apparent criminal links during a March 6 operation. The lawmakers questioned the legal basis for the operations and noted Congress had not authorized military action in Ecuador.

President Noboa defended the U.S. military presence, calling it 'international collaboration against crime, not an invasion.' Spain's record cocaine seizure — covered by InSight Crime — was traced in part to supply chain routes running through Ecuador, illustrating why Washington views the partnership as strategically important despite the human rights questions.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez's government announced Wednesday a 'comprehensive and orderly' restructuring of Venezuela's roughly $150 billion in sovereign and PDVSA debt — its first move toward debt normalization since the Trump administration lifted sanctions in April, per CNBC. The finance ministry framed the move as freeing the economy from 'accumulated debt' imposed by sanctions.

The U.S. formally reopened its embassy in Caracas, nearly three months after the January operation that removed Nicolás Maduro. Direct commercial flights between the U.S. and Venezuela have resumed after a seven-year suspension, marking a visible normalization of bilateral ties.

Venezuela publicly expressed concern Thursday over escalating armed conflict along its border with Colombia, specifically the Catatumbo region in Norte de Santander. The statement from Caracas cited UNHCR and the Defensoría del Pueblo, noting the conflict has displaced more than 100,000 people into border areas.

With the Maduro-era sanctions regime now partially dismantled, Chevron has already signed expanded production agreements with the Venezuelan government, per AFP. The debt restructuring announcement will test whether international creditors — burned by two decades of default — are willing to re-engage under the Rodríguez administration.

Cartel gunmen attacked a funeral procession in Sinaloa in front of a Mexican Army unit that did not intervene, according to Breitbart's Cartel Chronicles. The incident reflects ongoing friction between military presence and operational inaction in the state, where the Mayos-Chapitos internal war continues. A separate NGO report cited by La Silla Rota puts the number of disappearances tied to the Sinaloa internal conflict at nearly 6,000.

The New York Times published a major investigative piece Thursday — citing direct accounts from cartel members — detailing how an 'invisible architecture' of government protection across multiple levels of Mexico's government enabled the Sinaloa Cartel to operate openly for years. The piece is likely to renew U.S. pressure on Mexico City over institutional corruption.

The U.S. filed additional charges against El Jardinero (Audias Flores Silva) following his late-April arrest, per Infobae and CBS News. Mexican authorities have separately moved to block his extradition, setting up a jurisdictional standoff between Mexico City and Washington that will test the bilateral security relationship.

Mexico's Navy (SEMAR) arrested René Arzate García, alias 'La Rana,' in a major operation in Popotla, Rosarito, Baja California, per El Blog del Narco. The capture adds to a string of significant arrests since El Mencho's death in February, but the operational tempo across Jalisco and Baja California suggests CJNG restructuring is ongoing rather than collapsing.

A bipartisan U.S.-Mexico congressional caucus launched Thursday, per CBS News, as diplomatic strain between Washington and Mexico City over cartel operations and the legal debate around U.S. unilateral action continues. Senator Cornyn also introduced legislation targeting cartel fuel theft operations.

InSight Crime reports Brazil has announced a new multibillion-dollar national strategy against organized crime. Specific budget figures and operational details were not fully available in open sources at press time, but the announcement signals Brasília is responding to sustained pressure from rising organized crime activity, particularly in border regions and Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil and Paraguay hosted a joint cybersecurity conference in Montevideo this week, with experts from both countries' law enforcement agencies calling for stronger regional cooperation and regulatory updates to combat increasingly sophisticated cybercrime networks operating across South America, per El País Uruguay.

Thousands of students marched through downtown Santiago on Thursday in one of the largest student demonstrations in recent months, protesting education budget cuts and rising living costs. Police clashed with demonstrators, per AP. The march reflects broader social tension under President Boric's government as Chile heads into a tighter fiscal environment.

Chile's violent robbery rate fell 13% in Q1 2026, per La Tercera, citing government data. Drug and weapons offenses rose, which authorities attributed to better detection rather than a pure increase in criminal activity. The mixed picture tracks with ongoing organized crime pressure from Tren de Aragua and other foreign criminal networks operating in Chilean territory.

President Milei's government announced Friday the creation of a 'Federal Coordination Table for the Prevention and Combat of Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime in Bioceanic Corridors,' per Crónica. The new body focuses specifically on the trans-Andean and Atlantic trade routes increasingly used by narco networks.

The BBC reported Thursday that hundreds of thousands of Argentines are crossing into Chile for shopping, taking advantage of Milei's economic reforms and a favorable exchange rate. While framed as a consumer story, the cross-border movement also creates informal economic corridors that historically attract smuggling and informal currency operations.

InSight Crime reports Honduran authorities arrested a former mayor connected to a homicide case. The arrest is part of a broader regional anti-corruption and anti-crime sweep. No additional details on the municipality or the specific charges were available in open sources at the time of this writing.

U.S. deportations to El Salvador have doubled as President Bukele tightens alignment with the Trump administration's immigration agenda, per ABC News. The accelerated deportation pipeline reflects both Bukele's political bet on the Trump relationship and a continued drop in outward migration from El Salvador as the post-gang-crackdown security environment holds — at least statistically.

InSight Crime published a profile Thursday on the first Costa Ricans extradited to the United States on federal drug charges. The cases involve alleged narco-politicians and traffickers tied to transnational cocaine networks linking Colombia and Mexico through Costa Rica's Caribbean coast — the country's most vulnerable trafficking corridor.