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

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.

New-fbi-photo-boston-suspects. The man in the right was killed by Police,the other one was captured

BOSTON — In a direct appeal for help from the public, the F.B.I. on Thursday released pictures and video of two young men who officials believe may be responsible for the explosions that killed three people and wounded more than 170 during the Boston Marathon.

Officials said they have images of one of the men putting a black backpack on the ground just minutes before two near-simultaneous blasts went off near the finish line of the marathon at 2:50 p.m. on Monday.READ MORE HERE

One suspect, seen in pictures released Thursday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation wearing a black hat, had been shot, said Timothy P. Alben of the Masschusetts State Police in a press conference early Friday morning.  READ MORE HERE

A day-long dragnet for the second of two brothers believed to be behind Monday’s Boston Marathon bombing ended Friday night, with police capturing the suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev covered in blood and hiding in a boat in the backyard of a man who called 911 after becoming suspicious of activity on his property.

“We got him,” Boston Mayor Tom Menino tweeted moments later, as neighbors gathered to form a gauntlet of cheers while a phalanx of police cars departed the scene.

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Authorities are investigating whether terrorists acted independently without international connections, or if the older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev (26) was a “sleeping cell”  acting for a foreign government or terrorist organization.

Opposition supporters react as they hear the official presidential elections results in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, April 14, 2013. Photo Credit AP Photo/Enric Marti

The United States is refusing to acknowledge Nicolas Maduro as the rightfully elected President of Venezuela in a razor-thin victory.

The U.S. is also calling for a “credible and transparent process to reassure the Venezuelan people regarding the results.”

Shortly thereafter Venezuela’s Supreme Court announced there would be no recount.

Secretary of State John Kerry stated the U.S. had not decided whether to recognize Maduro as president.

Kerry is also calling for a recount so that there are no questions about Maduro’s right to rule,  during remarks to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill and also hinted that the U.S. might not recognize Mr. Maduro as the rightful leader.

“We think there ought to be a recount, I don’t know whether it’s going to happen. … [But] obviously, if there are huge irregularities, we are going to have serious questions about the viability of that government”, said Kerry.

Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski also  demanded a recount – as did the United States, Spain, the European Union and the Organisation of American States.

The Americas Security News Post.- Chavez is dead.

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela died Tuesday afternoon after a long battle with cancer, the venezuelan  government announced.

His departure  alters the political balance in Venezuela,  and in Latin America, where Mr. Chávez led a group of populist governments.

With the president’s death, the Constitution says that the nation should “proceed to a new election” within 30 days, and that the vice president should take over in the meantime. The election is likely to pit Vice President Nicolás Maduro, whom Chávez designated as his political successor, against Henrique Capriles, a young state governor who ran against Chávez in a presidential election in October.

But there has been heated debate in recent months over clashing interpretations of the constitution, in light of Mr. Chávez’s illness, and it is impossible to predict how the post-Chávez transition will proceed.

Mr. Chávez’s supporters wept and flowed into the streets in paroxysms of mourning.

The Americas Security News - Senator Pinto exiled in the brazilian embassy in Bolivia.

March 3rd.- The governments of Bolivia and Brazil on Saturday signed joint actions to combat drug trafficking and organized crime, protection of migrants and regional integration. The initiatives were defined in meeting by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Patriota (Brazil), and David Choquehuanca (Bolivia) in the bolivian city of Cochabamba.

Choquehuanca said that in April, there will be a meeting between the Defense Ministers of Bolivia and Brazil to review the policy of protection to immigrants in the border regions. In the meeting will participate commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force of both countries, to coordinate activities in joint border.

The governments of Bolivia and Brazil agreed also to establish a commission of officials and experts who will analyze the case of Bolivian senator Roger Pinto, exiled for more than nine months in the Brazilian Embassy in La Paz. Pinto is accusing the bolivian government of links with the drug trafficking.

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

The Americas Security News.- A Taser used by police in Brentwood includes a video camera. Photo credit: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

The San Francisco Police Commission is studying the Taser´s issue and  just finished holding the last of three community forums to gather public feedback. Nearly all the testimony was strongly opposed to the use of Tasers in San Francisco. READ MORE HERE: San Francisco Police does not fancy Tasers.