Good afternoon everyone,

Welcome to The Situation Room. This week has been full of international intrigue. Chinese Nationals arrested, high level assassinations, and there’s more danger brewing in South America.

Let’s dive in!

• Three Chinese nationals have been arrested for drone surveillance over US military bases

• A Russian General has been assassinated by Ukrainian Forces

• Three Colombian Soldiers KIA’d

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Three Chinese Nationals Arrested For Drone Spying Over Military Bases

_{By: Timothy Spencer, Geopolitical Analyst & Fellow for Atlas}

In the past month, three Chinese nationals have been arrested and charged with various crimes involving the illegal recording of military bases and aircraft carriers and exporting weapons to enemy states. This is a concerning trend that begs the question, are these "lone wolf" events, or are they a more complex plan by the Chinese Communist Party?

It was October when Atlas analyzed the Chinese student in Virginia who was convicted of Espionage for flying drones over Naval ships and capturing images and footage. Fengyun Shi was arrested on January 18th before he could board a one-way flight to China. Fast forward to December 10th, another Chinese national, Yinpiao Zhou, 39, was arrested for flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB). Zhou was captured at the San Fransico Airport before boarding, you guessed it, a one-way flight to China. The affidavit states that on November 30th, drone systems detected a drone that flew for nearly one hour and a mile above ground level. Base personnel contacted Zhou and found he concealed the drone under his jacket. A subsequent search warrant of the drone revealed several photographs of the base taken from the drone. A search of Zhou's Google search history also found he searched the phrase 'Vandenberg Space Force Base Drone Rules' and was in contact with another person about bypassing software on the drone to make it fly higher. VSFB was conducting a Starlink satellite launch when Zhou flew his drone.

On December 3rd, a Chinese student was arrested for an incident that occurred on June 25th of this year, where a drone was flown above and near the USS Theodore Roosevelt and illegally filmed while docked in South Korea. While the student maintains he was only filming the carrier out of curiosity, he was previously recognized as an "excellent Communist Party member" recognition at a Chinese university in May 2021. The joint investigation was conducted by local police, the Armed Forces Counterintelligence Command, and the National Intelligence Service. Three students have been charged, but only one has been arrested thus far.

Also, on December 3rd, a Chinese national was arrested in the U.S. for illegally exporting guns and Ammunition to North Korea and had plans to send "other technology" to the Dictator state. Shenghua Wen, 41, sent at least two shipments of firearms and ammunition in shipping containers from the Port of Long Beach to Hong Kong and then to its final destination in North Korea, according to court records. Law enforcement seized "some" of the shipment in the U.S. before it could be shipped. In September, a search warrant was executed on his residence, which uncovered over 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition and a receiver that detects eavesdropping devices. Wen said that in 2022, he was contacted by two North Korean officials in China who wanted him to send guns and ammunition to North Korea. He is accused of working with other unnamed co-conspirators.

The recent arrests may very well be more than just "lone wolf" actions, particularly when considering the sophistication of the alleged crimes and the geopolitical context in which they occur. It's possible that these individuals were part of a broader Chinese strategy involving Espionage and the illicit trade of military technologies, with the Chinese government either directly or indirectly involved. However, given the lack of detailed public information, it's hard to definitively label these incidents as a clear case of state-sponsored Espionage without further evidence. The frequency and nature of such arrests could point to a more extensive, more strategic approach by the Chinese Communist Party, particularly in the context of increasing tensions between China and the West.

Russian Chemical Weapons Chief Assassinated in Moscow

_{By: Addison Postal, Geopolitical Analyst & Fellow for Atlas}

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces and his deputy were assassinated in Moscow early morning of Tuesday, December 17th.

What Happened?

Kirillov and his deputy were killed by an explosive device planted within an electric scooter, which was detonated as they left the building he lived in on Ryazansky Prospekt in south-eastern Moscow on Tuesday morning.

Who Was Igor Kirillov?

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, 54, was an official in charge of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection troops. These troops are special forces who operate under conditions of radioactive, biological and chemical contamination, and are tasked with protecting ground forces operating within contaminated conditions. Before his appointment as one of Russia’s top generals in 2017, Kirillov headed Russia's Timoshenko Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Academy in Moscow. In October, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Kirillov and his forces for the use of riot control agents and multiple reports of using chloropicrin, a toxic choking agent, on the battlefield. Chloropicrin can cause immediate, severe inflammation of the eyes, nose and throat, as well as significant upper and lower respiratory tract injuries following acute exposure.

Since 2022, over 2,000 Ukrainian service members have been hospitalized with chemical poisoning, and three have died, Ukrainian Colonel Artem Vlasiuk said earlier this week. Russia denies allegations of the use of chemical weapons. In televised briefings given at the Defence Ministry, Kirillov accused Ukraine of violating nuclear safety protocols, as well as the West of various alleged crimes. Who Did It? Sources from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed that the organization carried out the assassination. “Kirillov was a war criminal and a completely legitimate target, as he gave orders for the use of prohibited chemical weapons against the Ukrainian military,” a source from the SBU reportedly stated. “This inglorious end awaits anyone responsible for killing Ukrainians. Retribution for war crimes is inevitable.”

On December 16th, one day before Kirillov’s assassination, Ukrainian prosecutors charged Kirillov in absentia in a criminal case for the “mass use” of banned chemical weapons on the Ukrainian battlefield. The SBU claims that chemical weapons have been used in the country more than 4,800 times since Russia invaded in February 2022. "Law enforcement agencies must find the killers in Russia," said former president Dmitry Medvedev. "Everything must be done to destroy the masterminds (of the killing) who are in Kyiv. We know who these masterminds are. They are the military and political leadership of Ukraine," he said. President Vladimir Putin has not commented on the assassination at this time.

Three Colombian Soldiers Killed in Action

_{By: Trent Barr, Staff Writer for Atlas}

Three Colombian Soldiers Killed in Action Three Colombian soldiers were killed during confrontations with members of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia known as the Estado Mayor Central (FARC-EMC), and the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), also known as Clan del Golfo, over the weekend as conflict between the Colombian government and armed groups continues to escalate.

Losses Amid Continued Operations

The first soldier, identified as Carlos Andrés Lasso Quiñones, lost his life while engaged in an offensive operation targeting members of the Juan Fernando Porras Martínez front of ELN in El Zulia, Norte de Santander department, located on the Venezuela-Colombia border, a region known for the heavy presence of the ELN due to historic ties with the Venezuelan government. During the engagement, Colombian security forces killed one member of the armed group and seized “war material and equipment,” according to the Colombian Ministry of Defense.

The ELN has held a presence on the nation’s border with Colombia since the early 2000s, shortly after the rise of Hugo Chávez, who became president of Venezuela in 1999. These ties are largely due to ideological similarities between Chávez’s socialist government and the leftist beliefs held by the ELN. The armed group is known to use Venezuela as a key resupply point, while reports of the group entering Venezuelan territory in an effort to evade capture by Colombian authorities have been a common historic tactic employed by the group.

The second soldier, identified as Ronald Jaramillo Mendoza, was killed during an engagement with the AGC in Ituango, Antioquia, a region rife with the presence of the descendants of the right-wing paramilitary known as the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) turned narco-terrorists. The Colombian military announced that an individual identified as “Maicol” was “neutralized” during the encounter, a key leader of the AUC in the region, according to the Colombian military.

The third soldier, identified as Romin Lozano Tapiero, was killed in action while his unit, the Battalion of Ground Operations No. 14, engaged members of the Franco Benavides structure of the FARC-EMC in La Llanada, Nariño. Despite reports from the Ministry of Defense of the structure being “impacted” by the attack, the Colombian military did not reveal specific losses attributed to the group. Following the loss of Lozano Tapiero, the Colombian military announced military operations against the FARC-EMC’s presence in Nariño will continue as tensions remain high between the government and the armed group since the dissolution of a ceasefire between the two in March.

The three soldiers’ deaths come amid increasing operations by Colombian security forces amid rising tensions with each faction. Currently, peace talks with the ELN have faltered while operations against the AGC are on the rise in northern Colombia. Despite the losses, Colombian security forces have recently launched a number of successful operations, including Operation Perseus, which led to the successful capture of El Plateado, Cauca, by the Colombian military. Prior to its capture, El Plateado was a FARC-EMC stronghold and vital hub for the transmission of narcotics into neighboring Ecuador.

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