ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Two ex-police officers among suspects in assassination of Federal Police officials The National Security Commission says 10 men involved in the murder of senior Federal Police officials in Veracruz last Saturday were arrested in the city of Puebla early yesterday morning. ADVERTISEMENT Juan Camilo Castagné Velasco, head of the Veracruz office of the Federal Police, was killed along with another senior officer in a restaurant in the municipality of La Antigua. A third officer was wounded. The arrest was not a peaceful one: residents of the San José Mayorazgo neighborhood, where the suspects were allegedly hiding, told the newspaper Milenio that they heard gunshots. Neighbors also witnessed the seizure of several vehicles. Police said intelligence efforts and two anonymous tips led to the apprehension of the murder suspects. Federal Police commissioner Manelich Castilla Craviotto traveled to Veracruz on the weekend to head up the investigation. The 10 detainees are originally from the s

By Moon Of Alabama The U.S. is giving up its hopeless position at the Syrian-Iraq border crossing near al-Tanf in south east Syria. The U.S. military had earlier bombed Syrian forces when they came near that position but it then found itself outmaneuvered, cut off from the north and enclosed in a useless area. Al-Tanf is in the blue area with the two blue arrows at the bottom of the map. It will soon be painted red as liberated and under Syrian government control. Source:  Al Watan Online   A more expressive version of the map: Source:  Doloroso To recap: The U.S. plan was to move from al-Tanf north towards the Euphrates river and to thereby capture and control the whole south-east of Syria. But Syria and its allies made an unexpected move and prevented that plan. The invaders are now cut off from the Euphrates by a Syrian west-to-east line that ends at the Iraqi border. On the Iraqi side elements of the Popular Military Unites under the command of the Iraqi

© coe.int The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), a supernational organization created to promote freedom, the democratic values and human rights over the Europe, has been discrediting itself. According to experts, the organization is under the presure and is factually managed by the pro-US European bureaucracy. Any points of view calling at least to establish a balance dialogue with Russia lead to a frenzied aggression from PACE members controlled by the European bureaucracy. It looks that this has led to Russia’s decision to stop its payment to the PACE. Russia has halted its participation in the PACE’s executive bodies. The Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement on the issue ( LINK ): The Russian Federation expresses concern over the aggravating crisis within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). As is known, in their attempt to “punish” the delegation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for the free expression o

FILE IMAGE The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies backed by the Russian and Syrian air forces, continued advancing east of the Arak gas field and capture several points from ISIS 3 km east and north of the field, according to the Hezbollah media wing. A report of the Iraqi Al-Ghadir TV channel, showed a large deployment of Russian troops in the Arak gas field area in order to support the SAA operation. It seems that Russia have deployed 152mm artillery units to provide fire support to Syrian forces. In the southern part of the Deir Ezzor province, the SAA captured the strategic Hamima village located 30 km east of the T-2 station and 80 km from Al-Buqmal at the Syrian-Iraqi border. According to pro-government sources, the SAA will liberate the T-2 station and the entire road between it and the T-3 station southeast of Arak gas field within few days. A Syrian officer confirmed to the Al-Ghadir TV channel that the current goal of the SAA is to seize the heights on both sides of t

On Friday, the Lebanese Army carried out a security operation in Al-Nour and Qaria Syrian refugee camps in the vicinity of Arsal town at the Syrian-Lebanese border. According to Lebanese sources, five suicide bombers blew themselves up in the Lebanese Army during the inspection campaign. The Lebanese Army said in an official statement that four suicide bombers blew themselves up in Al-Nour refugee camp, wounding three Lebanese soldiers. A suicide bomber targeted a Lebanese Army vehicle and three others blew themselves up to prevent the Lebanese Army from capturing them. In Qaria refugee camp, another suicide bomber blew himself up to prevent the Lebanese Army from capturing him. Moreover, several attempts were made to attack the Lebanese military with IEDs. Three Lebanese soldiers were wounded in an IED explosion in Al-Nour camp. However, the Lebanese Army managed to dismantle four other IEDs. In Qaria camp, one of the terrorists targeted a gathering of Lebanese soldiers with a

Kurdish sources denied the alleged withdrawal of Russian troops from Kafr Jannah Camp near Afrin in the northern Aleppo countryside. The Kurdish politician, Rizan Haddo, said that Russian forces didn’t withdraw from the camp. According to Haddo, Russia, on the contrary, transferred additional forces to the camp on Friday. Haddo also denied the closure of the road between Aleppo and Afrin. Local sources have already claimed that Russia additionally deployed 160 soldiers and armored vehicles carriers in Kafr Jannah. However, this seems not likely. However, on the other side several opposition sources argued that Russian troops have already withdrawn from the camp and no additional troops have been deployed. The only thing that can be confirmed so far is that the Aleppo-Afrin road is currently open. Moreover all reports about the Russian-YPG meeting are also false as the supposed photos of the meeting are old. On the other side, several YPG officials announced that their for

Pegasus software, sold to governments for use against terrorists and criminals, found to be used against people across ‘the political and civil society spectrum’   Stickers with the image of the Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, are stuck on columns outside the building of the attorney general’s office during a protest against alleged government spying. Photograph: Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images The text messages seemed innocuous enough when they buzzed on to the smartphone of Roberto Gil, a senior member of Mexico ’s opposition National Action Party. “I wanted to share this report from [the Mexican newsweekly] Proceso where your name is mentioned,” said one. “My husband just died. I’m sending you information about the wake,” read another. “Do you see what the PRD [another opposition party] is saying about us? Take a look,” said the third message. Each message carried a link, however, and, once clicked, they would have immediately allowed sophisticated spy software to infect

The prototype features a helmet covering the soldier’s face and cutting-edge body armor. The next-generation combat gear also includes a powered exoskeleton to help increase performance and stamina while fighting. The prototype was unveiled on Thursday at the opening of Russia’s largest high-tech prototyping center at the National University of Science and Technology (MISIS) in Moscow. It was developed at the Central Research Institute for Precision Machine Building, a major Russian weapons designer and primary military supplier. “We’re working on a concept for the combat suit of the future. On display is our vision of the suit we would like to develop within the next couple of years,” said Oleg Chikarev, deputy chief of weapons systems at the institute. “We're also working with [Russian] companies specializing in various elements of combat equipment and we’re creating the features which, in our opinion, will help our soldiers carry out their missions on the battl