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

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 - 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 - 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.

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

Crime in Brazil

Recent surveys reflect public safety has not been the priority of the current Brazilian government. The surveys are talkinf about little investment public safety, high rates of crime and homicide, low percentage of homicides cleared by the justice system, increased sense of insecurity of the population, according to an article published by 180graus.com

The article says that a survey by the website Open Accounts about public spending on public safety, points out that the 3.1 billion in planned budget for public safety in 2012, only 738 million reais (23.8% of total) was used by the federal government.

According to the survey, the pending on the purchase of new vehicles, equipment and infrastructure improvements, such as prisons and police departments, although it was higher than in 2010 and 2011, is far less than that applied in 2007 (R $ 1.2 billion).

Excessive bureaucracy, the systemic failings of the various organs of government and lack of commitment results are the main factors for the low investment of resources in the area. Furthermore, by constitutional provision, the federal government maintains some distance from the public safety issue, since the control of the military and civil police is the responsibility of the states. With this, the difficulties in applying the resources demonstrate the need to review assignments of the central federal government in Brasilia, states and municipalities.

Brazil is considered the second most violent country in the world, based on figures relating to intentional lethal crimes. Annually about 50 thousand Brazilians are victims of homicides in Brazil. Of these, on average, only 8% the police get the criminals and far fewer get to be tried and convicted. The impunity rate reaches the level of 92%, according to the article.

Nevertheless, Brazil supposedly can not be regarded as a country of  impunity, because it has the third prison population in the world, second only to China and the United States, and one of the fastest growth rate of incarceration in the world. In 1995 there were 160 000 prisoners and currently are 540 000.

The Americas Security News - Spending cuts in Pentagon

The U.S. Department of Defense DoD will impose a freeze on hiring civilians, cut operating costs on military bases and take more immediate steps to reduce spending in preparation for the possibility that U.S. Congress will fail to reach a deal to avert billions of dollars in additional cuts,  DoD officials said on Friday.   If  the White House and the Congress  do not an agreement, the Pentagon would be subject to $52 billion in cuts this fiscal year — about 10 percent of its non-war-fighting budget.

If no agreement by March 1, the DoD would have seven months to erase the $52 billion from its current budget because the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.  Cuts could affect defense programs, such as ship maintenance, purchase of new weapons and the military training programs.

A memo released Thursday by the Pentagon instructs all DoD forces and agencies to curtail spending on training, travel, office expenses and conferences. It also gives officials the authority to fire temporary workers.

The hiring freeze alone could have a significant impact on the economy in the Washington DC region (including Viriginia and Maryland). The Defense Department employs about 800,000 civilians worldwide, but many are concentrated locally.

FBI long distance firearms training is out of fashion.Photo Credit H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

The FBI has quietly broken with its long-standing firearms training regimen, putting a new emphasis on close-quarters combat to reflect the overwhelming number of incidents in which suspects are confronting their targets at point-blank range.The new training protocols were formally implemented…READ MORE HERE

U.S. President Obama nominated John Brennan to serve as director of the Central Intelligence Agency CIA, placing there a trusted aide and one of his inner circle.

During the decission making process, key reasons President Obama chose Mr. Brennan are:

a) Obama´s close relationship with Brennan, as he has served at Mr. Obama’s side for four years as counterterrorism chief

b) Brennan assisted Obama through many difficult decisions, including the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

c) He was also a big fan of the CIA’s drone program and its expansion into Yemen

d) Brennan also helped Obama  with issues related to the intended close of the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

e) The nominated officer also mediate with Yemen to manage counterterrorism operations there

f) Brennan also assist Obama in topics like Somalia and to the  White House security policy in response to the Arab Spring.

The Americas Post - Suzanne Barr is accused of crossing the line with male subordinates

Three U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff members have filed serious complaints alleging that a senior Obama administration political appointee and longtime aide to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano used inappropriate sexual behavior around them, according to court records and a letter describing the claims submitted to a congressional oversight committee.

The complaints are related to a sexual discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed in May by a senior ICE agent. They accuse Suzanne Barr, the agency’s chief of staff, of sexually inappropriate behavior toward employees. Barr is on leave while the allegations are being investigated, a spokesman for the agency said.

Barr is accused of telling a male subordinate he was “sexy” during an office party and asking a personal question about his anatomy. She is separately accused of offering to perform a sex act with a male subordinate while on business travel in Bogotá, Colombia. She is also accused of calling a male subordinate from her hotel room and offering to perform a sex act. The names of two of the employees were censored in affidavits.

There were no prior complaints about Barr, according to a homeland security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Barr was one of Napolitano’s first appointments after she became secretary in 2009.

There were 10 sexual harassment claims filed with ICE in 2011, a significant increase over the two cases filed in each of the previous two years, according to equal employment data from the agency. DHS said none of the cases were substantiated. Also in 2011, Morton issued an anti-fraternization policy that said supervisors were not to have sexual or romantic relationships with subordinates. Any such relationships, the policy said, should be immediately reported.

ICE would not say whether the agency’s director, John Morton, witnessed any inappropriate behavior by Barr in the three years he’s worked with her. Morton traveled with Barr 65 times between May 2009 and February 2012, according to documents obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

Two employees came forward with their complaints after New York’s most senior ICE agent filed a sexual discrimination and retaliation lawsuit. James T. Hayes Jr., described a “frat house” atmosphere at ICE designed to humiliate male employees under Barr’s leadership. Hayes, who filed the complaint in May, is asking for more than $4 million that would cover compensation he believes he is owed for relocation expenses and financial losses associated with his transfer as well as the full salary and benefits he would have earned until he was eligible to retire.

Hayes’ lawyer, Morris Fischer of Silver Spring, Md., has declined to comment.

The Justice Department is seeking to dismiss Hayes’ lawsuit on the basis that he did not state a claim for retaliation.

There were 10 sexual harassment claims filed with ICE in 2011, a significant increase over the two cases filed in each of the previous two years, according to equal employment data from the agency. DHS said none of the cases were substantiated. Also in 2011, Morton issued an anti-fraternization policy that said supervisors were not to have sexual or romantic relationships with subordinates. Any such relationships, the policy said, should be immediately reported.

Brian Hale, an ICE spokesman, said the agency has a “zero tolerance sexual harassment policy” and that all such allegations are promptly investigated.

Despite the complaints, 24 senior ICE agents across the country sent Morton a letter of support Thursday that alluded to media reports of Hayes’ case.

Barr went on leave after the New York Post reported a story on Hayes’ complaint earlier this month. The additional employees came forward with their allegations around the same time.

Barr, a 1995 graduate of University of Arizona, began working for Napolitano in 2004 when Napolitano was governor of Arizona. Before that, Barr worked for Arizona Republican Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl.

ICE’s office of professional responsibility and the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general are investigating the allegations against Barr, Hale said.