Riverine Challenges
Greater cooperation between the armed forces of Brazil, Colombia, and Peru across the Amazon is necessary to face numerous challenges. Drug smuggling makes the most news, given that Colombia and Peru are the two biggest producers of cocaine in the world, while Brazil is a major shipping corridor for drugs to the European market. The infamous narco-planes continuously fly across regional borders with frequent impunity, though on 26 September 2024, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) intercepted a Cessna 210 aircraft flying without authorization over Brazilian airspace in Amazonas state, by the border with Peru. The crew, to avoid capture, landed the plane and set it on fire before escaping.
Other crimes include smuggling, human trafficking, extortion of local communities, illegal mining, wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, and illegal, unreported or undocumented fishing. In Colombia, civilian vessels along the Magdalena River have been attacked, prompting the Navy to deploy riverine assets.
“The Amazon presents common problems, such as drug trafficking, illegal mining, deforestation, and environmental pollution,” said Rear Admiral Alberto de Araujo Lampert, Commander of the Brazilian Navy’s 9th Naval District, adding, “and these three countries have been operating for 50 years in the search for common solutions through their ships and their Navies, through interaction and the ever-increasing increase in interoperability, the degree of trust between these actors, in the search for common solutions and mutual support.”
The crew of Brazilian Navy hospital ship NAsH “Carlos Chagas” during a damage control exercise during Operation BRACOLPER 2024. (Brazilian Navy photo by First Lieutenant (RM2-T) Victor Cruz)
Many peacetime naval exercises prepare for threats that will only be realized in war. In contrast, BRACOLPER addresses real and immediate threats, and combating them is dangerous. While the pilots of narco-planes, for example, would attempt to flee or surrender, other criminals prefer to fight. Case in point, there have been several incidents of criminals shooting at riverine military craft. Six years ago, a floating barracks in the Arauca River utilized by the Colombian Navy was attacked by an explosive vessel.
More recently, in September 2024, unknown individuals shot at the Argentine riverine patrol boat GC-195 Guaraní, assigned to the Argentine Naval Prefecture (Prefectura Naval Argentina), as it was crossing the Paraná River in a zone known as Puerto Faubel, in the border between Argentina and Paraguay. While the crew was not injured, “the law enforcement vessel… had seven bullet holes in the hull” and two in the superstructure. The attackers, who shot from the Paraguayan side of the river, have not been identified. Video released to the media shows individuals carrying big bags and shooting at the vessel with handguns. Colombian marines aboard a riverine patrol boat were also attacked in October while traveling through the Naya River; the unidentified attackers utilized drones against the vessel.
Analysis
As the author of this analysis has previously discussed (see CIMSEC’s “Naval Operations Across South American Rivers: The “Other” Theater of Operations”), there is a natural tendency to think about frigates, submarines, and offshore patrol vessels sailing at sea when thinking about naval operations. However, South American navies are also tasked with patrolling and protecting their inland waters, namely rivers and lakes. With their vast Amazonian territories and a plethora of rivers, the navies of Brazil, Colombia, and Peru have a monumental everyday challenge.
The good news is that the three governments and militaries generally get along quite well, at least in living memory – anecdotally, Colombia and Peru had a war in 1932-33 called the Leticia Conflict, which included riverine warfare. Today, there are constant high-level meetings to maintain communication and cooperation. On 23-27 September, Brazil hosted the XXXI Interamerican Naval Conference, another historical initiative that dates back to 1959.
High-level meetings, communication, and joint training via initiatives like BRACOLPER have a positive effect. In September, the Colombian Navy, Brazil’s Federal Police, with help from the Amazonian Center for Information (Centro de Fusión de Información de la Amazonía), intercepted a speedboat in Catalão Lake, Amazonas state, Brazil. Aboard were “over two tons” of drugs, including marijuana and cocaine. “It is presumed that the seized narcotics came from the triple border between Colombia, Brazil, and Peru and were transported through various river routes to the place of interdiction,” explained the Colombian Navy.
Though regional riverine fleets have achieved much with existing resources, they could benefit from additional assets. As this author has also previously discussed, South American shipyards are enjoying a golden age, with the construction of various complex platforms, including submarines, corvettes, offshore patrol vessels, and multi-purpose transport vessels. Brazilian shipyards, Colombia’s shipbuilding corporation COTECMAR, and Peru’s state-run shipyard SIMA manufacture vessels for riverine operations. SIMA, for example, has built a fleet of hospital-civilian assistance ships called PIAS (Plataforma Itinerante de Acción Social) and small transport vessels for the Peruvian Army. Meanwhile, Brazil has also recently built hospital ships and riverine craft. COTECMAR has done the same and even sold riverine craft to the Brazilian Army around a decade ago.
Given the vastness of the Amazon and the numerous rivers across the region, more personnel and assets (both aerial and naval) are necessary to patrol and protect it adequately. Moreover, some vessels operating across the Amazon are quite old. Colombia’s gunboat, Leticia, which participated in BRACOLPER 2023, was built in the 1950s, though Peru’s Castilla and Clavero gunboats were constructed much more recently, slightly over a decade ago.
The Navies of Brazil, Colombia, and Peru generally enjoy strong relations thanks to constant communication, exercises like BRACOLPER, and a desire to work together to combat common threats. While operations at sea, unsurprisingly, enjoy the most media coverage, riverine operations are just as important. With more limited assets and a highly challenging environment, naval forces in the Amazon, even with the assistance of other services and law enforcement agencies, have a complex and challenging mission. The historical multinational exercise BRACOLPER, five decades old in 2024, is a prime example of an effective riverine confidence-building mechanism in the Amazon.
Wilder Alejandro Sánchez is an analyst who focuses on international defense, security, and geopolitical issues across the Western Hemisphere, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. He is the President of Second Floor Strategies, a consulting firm in Washington, DC, and a non-resident Senior Associate at the Americas Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies. Follow him on X/Twitter: @W_Alex_Sanchez.
Featured Image: A naval parade consisting of ships from the Brazilian, Colombian, and Peruvian navies during BRACOLPER 2024. (Brazilian Navy photo by Cabo ER Iremar)
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Publish date : 2024-12-09 22:00:00
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