America Security News.- President Barack Obama and Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto, right, leave a joint news conference in Mexico City, Mexico, Thursday, May 2, 2013. Credit to AP Photo

Last week, Mr. Obama returned to capitals in Latin America with a vastly different message. Relationships with countries racked by drug violence and organized crime should focus more on economic development and less on the endless battles against drug traffickers and organized crime capos that have left few clear victors. The countries, Mexico in particular, need to set their own course on security, with the United States playing more of a backing role.READ WHOLE ARTICLE HERE

800px-Dome_CCTV_cameras

A recent poll showed that only 40% of Americans supported more cameras in the name of public safety – and only 12% wanted fewer cameras.

And yet, more cameras are coming in the United States. Police officers in Denver, Phoenix, Chicago and other cities are relying more on surveillance video to help fight crime. READ MORE HERE

lockheed-martin-employees-volunteering-at-fort-worth-museum-of-science

Lockheed Martin said to Financial Times that the US government’s spending cuts would reduce its sales for the year by $825m, as it became one of the first big military contractors to put a figure on the impact of the across-the-board reductions. READ WHOLE ARTICLE IN FT

Canadian RCMP escorts one terror suspect at Buttonville Airport, Ontario.

Two men were arrested and charged with plotting a terrorist attack against a Canadian passenger train with support from al-Qaida elements in Iran, canadian police said Monday. The case bolstered allegations by some governments and experts of a relationship of convenience between Shiite-led Iran and the predominantly Sunni Arab terrorist network.

Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, and Raed Jaser, 35, had “direction and guidance” from al-Qaida members in Iran, though there was no reason to think the planned attacks were state-sponsored, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner James Malizia said.READ MORE HERE

DUBAI: Iran on Tuesday denied involvement in a plot to derail a passenger train in Canada that police say was backed by al Qaida elements based in Iran.READ MORE HERE

According to newspaper The Times of India, a US government source said Iran was home to a little-known network of al-Qaida fixers and “facilitators” based in the Iranian city of Zahedan, very close to Iran’s borders with both Pakistan and Afghanistan. The source said they serve as go-betweens, travel agents and financial intermediaries for al-Qaida operatives and cells operating in Pakistan and moving through the area.

According to the source, they do not operate under the protection of the Iranian government, which periodically launches crackdowns on al-Qaida elements, though at other times it appears to turn a blind eye to them. It is also an area where Iranian authorities have battled a insurgency of their own in recent years from Sunni Muslims complaining of discrimination.

The Jundollah group, believed to be based across the border in Pakistan, has claimed several attacks including a bombing that killed 42 people in 2009, and attacks on mosques in Zahedan and elsewhere in the region. Iran says Jundollah has links to al Qaida and has accused Pakistan, Britain and the United States of supporting it to stir instability in the region, allegations that they deny.

Boston Police did a good job.

Thermal-imaging devices have been used to watch the second suspect in this week’s Boston Marathon bombings as he was holed up in his last hiding place, the boat.

Authorities said a helicopter equipped with a thermal imager (FLIR — a forward-looking infrared device —) spotted the heat signature of a person inside a tarp-covered boat, sitting in a backyard in Watertown, Mass.

After an area resident reported seeing a trail of blood leading to the boat, Boston Police gave instructions to the helicopter who used the sensor.

The thermal readings confirmed that there was indeed someone under the tarp, and that the person was still alive.  After that the helicopter´s termal equippment followed up the heat signature of the individual, even though he was underneath of what appeared to be the ‘shrink wrap’ or cover on the boat itself.

From that point on, the helicopter was able to direct the tactical teams over to that area.

After monitoring the body in the boat for more than an hour, police moved in and took the wounded bombing suspect, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, into custody.

The FLIR (Forward-Looking Infra-Red) system detects the Infra-red signatures of high heat sources, associated with the metal-hydride lights used in large grow operations.

A similar helicopter to this monitored the suspect by using thermal equipment , during the standoff in Boston

The technology is not new. The military has used it for years on the battlefield. Law enforcement has adopted the device only recently, using it in search and rescue operations, fugitive apprehensions, and along the border to detect drug smugglers and illegal border crossings. Moreover, thermal imagers have been particularly helpful, albeit controversial, in the detection of indoor marijuana-growing operations.

Police will fly at an altitude between 1,200 and 1,500 feet in a helicopter fitted with FLIR. The thermal image of a structure will show the walls and other areas as bright white, indicating significant heat was escaping. This is than determined by the FLIR operator as being consistent with that of a structure being used for an indoor marijuana-growing operation.

The Americas Security News - Israeli drone Hermes 450

FIFA is getting nervous with the status quo of violence in Rio and Sao Paulo. Brazil also worries, and therefore the government started to put into place a task of security measures. The first one is the use of drones to secure the next Confederations Cup in June, where all the champions of all continents will meet. in that sense the Brazilian Air Forcewill use four Israeli-made drones to help provide security during the Confederations Cup in June.

The Brazilian Air Force says the unmanned planes have been acquired to operate within Brazil’s borders and will be used extensively during the World Cup warmup tournament from June 15-30. If everything goes well this Cup, the drones are also expected to help provide security during the 2014 World Cup.

Brazil has had two of the RQ-450 drones manufactured by Israel in operation since 2011. The other two will be ready this month (March 2013).

The two new units have a few improvements from the other two, including better infrared cameras and enhanced communication systems, that will be used during the nights. The air force says it has invested nearly $25 million in the unnmanned aircrafts, plus the field control station.

The Americas Security News.- President Fernandez de Kirchner in front of Falkland Malvinas Islands painted like the Argentine national flag

According to The Sunday Times, Argentina is developing missile technology that could threaten the Malvinas/Falkland Islands.

The british newspaper has learnt that military scientists in Argentina are building a rocket capable of being fired into space to an altitude of about 250 miles. Experts believe such technology could, in time, develop into a missile with a range of up to 372 miles.

This would put it easily within range of the Falklands, which are about 300 miles from the Argentine mainland, and could transform the balance of power in the south Atlantic.

Lord West, the former security minister and first sea lord, said he believed the only logical reason to develop such technology was to threaten the Malvinas/Falklands.

The Americas Security News.- Michael J. "Mike" Rogers

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.), said Sunday that recent reports about Chinese hacking show the U.S. is losing a global cyber war. “We get [hit] every single day by a whole series … of attacks, everything from criminals trying to get into your bank account or steal your identity, to nation states like China who are investing billions and hiring thousands,” he said. READ MORE HERE

Ranking Member Adam Smith

Of the 30 largest House recipients of defense industry campaign donations since the 1990 election cycle, only 11 are still serving in Congress, according to the analysis of magazine POLITICO and federal data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. It’s the same story in the Senate, where 14 of the top 30 recipients over the same time period still serve.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/defense-industry-finds-few-old-friends-on-hill-87991.html