Chile Graduates Its First Woman Fighter Pilot
Lieutenant Francisca Caces, 29, has become the first woman in Chile to qualify as an F-16 fighter pilot. The Chilean...
May 28, 2026Section
Defense Monitor
Weekly defense intelligence covering military, security, and defense industry developments across Latin America and Brazil.
Brazil’s Marines Scrap Their Last Light Tanks
The armored battalion of Brazil's Marine Corps has shut down its fleet of SK-105 light tanks. These were small, lightly...
May 28, 2026
Brazil Pitches Its Defense Industry to Argentina
Brazil's defense minister, Jose Mucio, met his Argentine counterpart, Lieutenant General Carlos Presti, in Buenos Aires on May 26.
May 27, 2026
Bolivia Clears the Way to Use the Army Against Protesters
Bolivia's army could soon be turned on protesters after Congress cleared President Rodrigo Paz to declare a state of emergency,...
May 27, 2026
Chile Joins the World’s Largest Naval Exercise Off Hawaii
Chile sent the frigate Almirante Cochrane to Hawaii for RIMPAC 2026 and its first Pacific Dragon, a near four-month deployment...
May 26, 2026
Brazil Army Receives First Fully National Bomb-Disposal Robot
Brazil received its first fully national EOD robot from Ambipar Robotics, a step toward defense self-sufficiency after years relying on...
May 26, 2026
Bolivian Senate Strips Limits on Emergency Power as Crisis Deepens
Bolivia's Senate voted 2/3+ to repeal the 2020 emergency powers law, removing time limits and criminal liability amid a 3-week...
May 25, 2026
Colombia Loses Two Soldiers to Insurgent Drones in Six Days
Three lethal drone attacks across three departments in six days kill two Colombian soldiers and wound thirteen, days before the...
May 25, 2026
Latin America Defense Monitor — May 16–23, 2026
Latin America defense: Chile and Argentina airlift food into besieged La Paz, USS Nimitz pivots to the Caribbean as Cuba...
May 23, 2026