domingo, 20 de enero de 2013

América Latina: ¿Qué Hemos Hecho? Reflexiones sobre respuestas y políticas públicas frente al incremento de la violencia delincuencial en America Latina

2Ecaratu libroLas altas tasas de criminalidad han convertido a América Latina en una de las regiones más violentas del mundo. El deterioro de las condiciones de seguridad y las generalizadas percepciones de inseguridad han contribuido a la idea generalizada de que los gobiernos combaten el problema a ciegas y que ninguna de las estrategias empleadas hasta la fecha han dado resultado. Se percibe una situación cada vez más inmanejable.

Carlos Bassombrío Iglesias

Brasil: Número de sequestrados entre janeiro e outubro cresceu 85,7% de 2011 para 2012

Perfil de vítimas mudou de grande para pequeno empresário
A Divisão Antissequestro (DAS) apresentou na terça-feira seis pessoas acusadas de sequestrar uma pequena comerciante em Itaguaí, no dia 8 deste mês. A vitima de 64 anos, dona de uma loja de material de construção, foi resgatada no cárcere sem que o valor pedido de resgate — que em cinco dias caiu de R$ 500 mil para R$ 100 mil — fosse pago. O caso aponta para a volta de um problema que assombrou o estado no passado. Uma análise das estatísticas divulgadas pelo Instituto de Segurança Pública (ISP) revela que os casos de sequestro clássico — quando a vítima é mantida em cativeiros e há pedido de resgate — aumentaram 85,7%, na comparação de janeiro a outubro do ano passado com o mesmo período de 2011

Nationalists or Islamists

Tuareg_military
Picture Credit: africanarguments.org

France has intervened in Mali with the stated intention of gaining control over the chaos currently afflicting the country. While the justifications for this intervention have focused on Islamist fighters, Wesleyan University Professor Peter Rutland argues that the Malian crisis primarily revolves around a nationalist rebellion of the Tuareg people that has not been adequately addressed. Rutland argues that by supporting the Malian government’s repression of ethnic minorities, western powers have exacerbated the causes of the crisis they are now scrambling to contain. Without adequate recognition of the true nature of this conflict, it seems likely that the French intervention will struggle to establish its stated goal of political stability in Mali.

73% de los españoles cree que el pais se encuentra al borde de un estallido social a causa del nivel de paro y pobreza

http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2013/01/19/actualidad/1358623813_775941.html

The World at War

Current Wars

BurmaInsurgency 1950 -->
Central African RepublicPersistent State Failure1980s-->
China Uighur 1996 -->
ColombiaInsurgencies1970s-->
Congo (Zaire) Congo War1998-->
India Kashmir 1970s-->
India Naxalite Uprising 1967 -->
MaliTuaregs2012 -->
MexicoDrug War2006 -->
Middle East/
North Africa/
Central Asia
Arab Spring 2010 -->
NepalMaoists1996-2006 ?
NigeriaCivil Disturbances 1997 -->
PakistanPashtun Jihad2001 -->
Somalia Civil War 1991-->
Sudan Darfur1983-->
SyriaSyria Revolution2011
TurkeyKurdistan1984 -->
United StatesAfghanistan 1980 -->
United StatesDjibouti2001 -->
YemenSheik al-Houti2004 -->
Yemen South Yemen Unrest2007 -->
YemenYemen Civil War2011 -->

Other Conflicts

AlgeriaInsurgency 1992 -->
AngolaCabinda1975-2006?
China Senkaku Islands 1968 -->
China Spratly Islands 1988 -->
Georgia Civil War1991-->
India Assam 1985 -->
Israel Palestine 1967 -->
Ivory CoastCivil War 2002 -->
Korea Korean War1953 -->
Kyrgyzstan Civil Unrest2010 -->
Laos Hmong Insurgency2000 -->
Namibia Caprivi Strip 1966-->
PakistanBaluchistan2004 -->
PalestineCivil War2007-->
Peru Shining Path1970s-->
PhilippinesMoro Uprising 1970s-->
Russia North Caucasus Insurgency 1992 -->
ThailandIslamic Rebels2001 -->
United StatesPhilippines 1898 -->
UzbekistanCivil Disturbances2005 -->



"Perpetual peace is no empty idea, but a practical thing which, through its gradual solution, is coming always nearer its final realization..."
IMMANUEL KANT
The United Nations defines "major wars" as military conflicts inflicting 1,000 battlefield deaths per year. In 1965, there were 10 major wars under way. The new millennium began with much of the world consumed in armed conflict or cultivating an uncertain peace. As of mid-2005, there were eight Major Wars under way [down from 15 at the end of 2003], with as many as two dozen "lesser" conflicts ongoing with varrying degrees of intensity.
Most of these are civil or "intrastate" wars, fueled as much by racial, ethnic, or religious animosities as by ideological fervor. Most victims are civilians, a feature that distinguishes modern conflicts. During World War I, civilians made up fewer than 5 percent of all casualties. Today, 75 percent or more of those killed or wounded in wars are non-combatants.
Africa, to a greater extent than any other continent, is afflicted by war. Africa has been marred by more than 20 major civil wars since 1960. Rwanda, Somalia, Angola, Sudan, Liberia, and Burundi are among those countries that have recently suffered serious armed conflict.
War has caused untold economic and social damage to the countries of Africa. Food production is impossible in conflict areas, and famine often results. Widespread conflict has condemned many of Africa's children to lives of misery and, in certain cases, has threatened the existence of traditional African cultures.
Conflict prevention, mediation, humanitarian intervention and demobilization are among the tools needed to underwrite the success of development assistance programs. Nutrition and education programs, for example, cannot succeed in a nation at war. Billions of dollars of development assistance have been virtually wasted in war-ravaged countries such as Liberia, Somalia, and Sudan.

Panetta Urges New Focus for NATO

LONDON, Jan. 18, 2013 – As the International Security Assistance Force transitions to a sustaining role in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, will NATO retreat from its responsibilities, or innovate to develop and share the capabilities needed to meet growing, global security challenges?
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta delivered a speech at King's College here today, built around that question.
The audience included students and faculty members of the school's Department of War Studies and the secretary noted it was "especially these young leaders" he wished to address.
The more than 60-year-old NATO alliance "remains the bedrock of America’s global ... partnerships," Panetta said. "But today, after over 11 years of war, I believe we are at another turning point in the history of the transatlantic alliance."
NATO nations came together in 1949 to form a common defense against the monolithic Soviet superpower. Now, Panetta noted, the alliance -- if it is to remain an effective, capable, enduring multilateral security alliance -- must prepare to quickly respond to a wide range of security threats even as member nations, under budget pressures, spend less on their militaries.
"The bottom line is that no one nation can confront the threats ... alone," the secretary said. "We have got to build an innovative, flexible, and rotational model for forward-deployed presence and training.”
In transforming its capabilities, NATO must develop innovative alliance cooperation, invest in new frontiers, and build regional partnerships, he said.
Innovative cooperation, Panetta said, involves positioning and equipping forces so they can respond to threats rapidly and effectively. For example, he noted, the Defense Department has moved two heavy Army brigades out of Europe.
"But ... this effort is not primarily about cuts," he said. "We will be supporting new rotational deployments, enhanced training and exercises, and other new initiatives that bolster the readiness of our forces and build their capacity to seamlessly work together."
The secretary listed some of those U.S. initiatives: deploying ballistic missile defense-equipped destroyers to Rota, Spain; establishing a new U.S. aviation detachment in Poland; and deploying U.S. Army battalions on a rotational basis to participate in the NATO Response Force.
"We are making tangible investments in these new forms of cooperation to make the alliance more responsive and more agile," the secretary said. "And we are doing so in a cost-effective way that meets our fiscal responsibilities."
Turning to "new frontiers," Panetta urged NATO commitment to cyber defense.
"For years, I have been deeply concerned by intellectual property theft, by attacks against private sector institutions, and the continued probing of military and critical infrastructure networks," he said. Panetta said cyber- attacks could "paralyze our economies" and potentially destroy national power grids, government systems, financial and banking networks.
"That technology is real and threatening today," Panetta said. "As societies that rely on cyberspace, Europe and the United States have more to gain from stronger cyber security than anyone else. And our economies are so interdependent; failing to act together could leave all of us dangerously exposed."
NATO must consider what its role should be in defending member nations from cyber attacks, the secretary said.
"We must begin to take the necessary steps to develop additional alliance cyber defense capabilities," he said. "To that end, I urge that in the coming year [that] NATO ministers hold a session to closely examine how the alliance can bolster its defensive cyber operational capabilities."
Other key capabilities for the future that require investment, Panetta said, include unmanned systems, surveillance and intelligence platforms, space defense and special operations forces.
"The time has come when nations can share critical capabilities ... that enhance [our common] ability to ... respond to common threats," he said.
Panetta said the third pillar for building the transatlantic alliance of the 21st century "must be a determined and proactive effort to build strong partnerships with nations and security organizations in other regions of the world."
The purpose of such an approach would not be to build a global NATO, Panetta said, but to help other regions provide for their own security and become more capable of partnering with NATO to meet global challenges.
"We see this every day in Afghanistan, where more than 20 non-NATO countries -- Australia, Jordan, others -- work alongside NATO countries in ISAF," he said. "And we saw the benefits of this approach in our Libya [operation] as well, where the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council partnered with Europe and North America under a NATO umbrella to protect the Libyan people. The presence of these regional partners has added credibility and capability to the alliance effort, and laid the groundwork for continued cooperation in the future."
And as NATO confronts other security challenges in Africa and the Middle East, Panetta recommended the establishment of "deeper partnerships with the Arab League [and] the Gulf Cooperation Council and build regular dialogue, exchanges and exercises with African organizations such as the African Union and ECOWAS in Western Africa."
NATO also must broaden the scope of alliance security discussions beyond European and regional issues, the secretary said.
"In particular, I strongly believe that Europe should join the United States in increasing and deepening our defense engagement with the Asia-Pacific region," Panetta said.
The U.S. "pivot" to Asia has caused concern in Europe, he acknowledged.
"But today those concerns should be put to rest," Panetta said. "Global security is not a zero-sum game, but neither are the security commitments of the United States. More importantly, Europe’s economic and security future is -- much like the United States' -- increasingly tied to Asia. After all, the European Union is China’s largest trading partner, [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations'] second-largest trading partner, and ranks third and fourth with Japan and South Korea."
It is in the interests of both the United States and Europe, the secretary said, for NATO to become more outwardly focused and engaged in strengthening Asian security institutions such as ASEAN.
"It is also in our interest to expand defense dialogue and exchanges with a full range of nations including China, where defense spending, according to one estimate, is projected to exceed the largest eight European nations combined, by 2015," the secretary said.
NATO member nations have a responsibility to demonstrate global leadership and to advance the ideals of peace and prosperity, he said.
"To that end, the United States and Europe should work together and ensure our efforts are coordinated through regular consultations between European and U.S. defense officials focused on Asia-Pacific security issues," Panetta said. "The bottom line is that Europe should not fear our rebalance to Asia, Europe should join it."
In NATO, the world has a model for how nations can come together to advance global peace and prosperity, he said, but the alliance "must be strong enough and bold enough to change."
The secretary said after spending this week in Southern Europe, and continuing to deal with budget uncertainty at home, "I am very clear-eyed about the fiscal pressures nations are facing."
NATO nations are facing a crisis, Panetta said. "But we must never allow any crisis to undermine our collective resolve," he said.
As he prepares to retire from a career in public service, the secretary said he recognizes a generational shift is underway.
"There will probably not be another U.S. secretary of defense with direct memories of World War II," he said. "Many of those entering military service today -- and many of the young students here in this audience -- were born years after the fall of the Berlin wall. Yet across the generations, the transatlantic alliance remains the rock upon which we will build our future security and our future prosperity."
Panetta said his generation's mission was to secure a better and safer life for their children.
"That is now your mission and your responsibility," he told the students in the audience. "History will ultimately define our legacy, for better or for worse. Your job is now to make your own legacy. The future security of nations in the 21st century rests on whether you decide to fight together or fight separately. That decision rests with all of you."
 By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

Crimen organizado internacional hace negocios en el futbol

La FIFA cree que el crimen organizado está "migrando" del narcotráfico al fútbol

viernes, 18 de enero de 2013

ELN secuestra en Colombia a tres extranjeros

Los retenidos son trabajadores de una explotación de oro y junto a ellos capturaron también a dos colombianos. El Universal | NorteDigital
Si te gustó este artíc quizá te guste Norte Digital también.
La guerrilla del Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) secuestró el viernes en el norte de Colombia a cinco personas, entre ellas a dos peruanos y un canadiense, informó el comandante de la Fuerzas Militares, general Alejandro Navas.
El alto oficial explicó a un grupo de reporteros que el secuestro se produjo a las cinco de la mañana en una zona rural del municipio de Norosí, departamento de Bolívar, a unos 435 kilómetros al norte de Bogotá. Navas precisó que los retenidos pertenecen a una empresa de explotación aurífera y que fueron secuestrados por entre 20 y 25 guerrilleros del ELN.
En tanto, el presidente Juan Manuel Santos escribió en su cuenta de Twitter: "Estamos encima de los secuestradores del Sur de Bolívar. Fuerza Pública ya se movilizó y los tenemos en la mira".
El comandante de la Policía Nacional, general Humberto Guatibonza, explicó que se le ordenó viajar a la zona del secuestro para ponerse al frente de las operaciones de rescate. Guatibonza agregó que actualmente en Colombia hay dos extranjeros secuestrados: un dominicano y un guatemalteco, ambos en poder de la delincuencia común.
El ELN es la segunda guerrilla de Colombia después de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) y en sus filas, según cifras del gobierno, hay unos mil 500 combatientes.

Justicia por mano propia contra el crimen organizado

Mexican peasants, Indians take law into own hands :: La Prensa :: America in English

Jovenes con modelo de narco y sicario

Adolescentes aspiran a ser parte del crimen organizado

Militarizacion de la lucha contra crimen organizado

Pentágono entrenará agentes mexicanos para combate crimen organizado. Con José Cárdenas

viernes, 4 de enero de 2013

Crime-sourcing meets “investigation-sourcing”

While crime-sourcing has allowed organized crime groups to commit more crimes with less risk, law enforcement officials are now leveraging the power of crowdsourcing to fight crime as well.
The NYPD has already launched a social media unit to track criminals on Facebook and Twitter. More recently, as the streets of the UK burned in the aftermath of violent protests, citizens of London banded together online to identify looters.
In one of the most impressive uses of “investigation-sourcing” to date, the Canadian public came together to identify the thousands of protesters who caused millions of dollars of damage as a result of the Vancouver Canucks losing the NHL championship in June 2011. Using a variety of image processing techniques, the firm Gigapixel was able to assemble 216 publicly submitted photographs and assemble them into one seamless high-resolution image. The phenomenal resolution of the resultant picture allowed the faces of tens of thousands of riot participants to be viewed in high resolution. The identification of more than 10,000 participants by name was completed by tagging individuals in Facebook, breaking a record for the number of tags in a given image to date. Many of those identified in the photos have now been successfully arrested and prosecuted by Canadian authorities.
 http://www.futurecrimes.com/article/from-crowdsourcing-to-crime-sourcing-the-rise-of-distributed-criminality/

Wegelin, el primer banco suizo que cae por evasión de impuestos


 Viernes, 4 de enero de 2013

Banco Wegelin
El banco Wegelin empezó a operar en 1741. 

El banco más viejo de Suiza, Wegelin & Co., dejará de operar permanentemente después de que se declarara culpable de ayudar a sus clientes estadounidenses a evadir impuestos.

Las entidades suizas han sido acusadas de conspirar con los nazis, de operar bajo leyes financieras excesivamente laxas, de manejar cuentas de gobernantes cuestionados como el chileno Augusto Pinochet o el liberiano Charles Taylor.
Y también han sido acusadas, una y otra vez, de ser un paraíso fiscal.

Pero nunca antes un banco suizo -o cualquier institución financiera de reconocimiento internacional- se había declarado culpable de conspirar deliberadamente con sus clientes para evadir impuestos.
No en vano los servicios de Wegelin se promocionaban con el siguiente lema: "Ni el gobierno suizo ni ningún otro gobierno pueden obtener información sobre su cuenta de banco".

Wegelin emplea unas 700 personas y tiene 13 sucursales, todas en Suiza. Es parte de una serie de relativamente pequeñas "boutiques" bancarias especializadas en el manejo de grandes sumas de dinero en nichos concretos de la economía.

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2013/01/130104_banco_suiza_wegelin_dp.shtml

Future crimes


Criminals have always been quick to adopt new technologies with the police often trailing behind.  The unprecedented rapid rate of scientific progress is creating new opportunities for transnational criminal organizations to exploit these technological advancements for unintended nefarious purposes.
While many are focused on the common cyber crimes of today, this group will adopt a futurist’s approach that looks beyond today’s cyber crimes in anticipation of the next generations of criminality. Initially, the group will have  a noted emphasis on virtual world crime, augmented / mixed reality crime, criminal MMORPG’s, robotic crime, nanotechnology crime, artificial intelligence/automated criminality, criminal justice implications of cloud computing and bio/genome related crimes.
Welcome to Future!
 http://www.futurecrimes.com/about/