Organized crime no longer stops at borders, and the way we fight it may not be keeping up.

In this episode of The Geopolitical Puzzle, I speak with Dr. Magda Long, an intelligence and organized crime researcher, about how transnational criminal networks have become tied to the global economy, technology, and geopolitical competition.

Governments today have powerful tools. They can track illicit financial flows, intercept criminal communications and take down network leaders. But Dr. Long argues that we still treat transnational organized crime mainly as a law enforcement problem, when the challenge is much broader. Geopolitical rivalry itself can be part of the problem.

We discuss:

• Whether governments are equipped to counter transnational organized crime
• Why our institutions haven’t kept pace with how these networks operate
• How geopolitical competition can help criminal networks thrive
• Why disrupting the systems that enable crime may matter more than dismantling individual groups

En este episodio conversamos con Gerardo Muñoz Lorente, escritor e investigador histórico, sobre su libro El Sahel. El nuevo escenario de la geopolítica mundial .

El Sahel recorre África de este a oeste, del mar Rojo al Atlántico. Allí viven unos 400 millones de personas en diez estados marcados por sequías, terrorismo yihadista, inestabilidad política, golpes de Estado y riesgo de hambruna.

Mientras la atención se va a Ucrania u otros conflictos, en esa franja se mueve un tablero en el que intervienen ejércitos, milicias, yihadistas, Rusia, China y el vacío que dejó Europa.

Muñoz Lorente explica qué está pasando, por qué importa y cómo esa inestabilidad puede irradiar al resto de África y a Europa.

En este episodio de The Geopolitical Puzzle, conversamos con el contralmirante (r) Edward López Cazorla, presidente de CEGESEN (Centro de Estudios Geopolíticos y de Seguridad Nacional).

Analizamos la situación geopolítica actual del Perú, así como sus principales desafíos y oportunidades en los escenarios regional y global.

Hablamos sobre el origen de CEGESEN, su misión de fortalecer la cultura de defensa, las lecciones de la lucha antiterrorista aplicables a la seguridad nacional actual y las prioridades estratégicas del centro de estudios de cara al futuro.

Una conversación interesante y necesaria sobre el lugar del Perú en el tablero geopolítico y la importancia de construir una verdadera cultura de defensa y seguridad nacional.

In this episode, we sit down with Professor Ebru Surucu-Balci to explore why the Strait of Malacca is one of the world's most critical and irreplaceable chokepoints. We discuss:

• Why up to 80% of China’s oil must pass through this narrow waterway (the famous “Malacca Dilemma”)
• How a disruption in the Strait of Hormuz immediately increases pressure on Malacca
• Why alternatives like Arctic shipping, overland trains, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or smaller Indonesian straits all fall short
• The growing military attention the region is receiving from external powers

A deep dive into the strategic reality of global trade, energy security, and geopolitics — and why nothing can truly replace the Strait of Malacca.

In this episode, our guest is Dr. Euan Graham, one of the world’s leading experts on Indo-Pacific security, to unpack the complex forces shaping the world’s most dynamic and strategically vital region.

From the critical chokepoints of the Strait of Malacca and Taiwan Strait to the rise of nimble minilateral alliances like the Quad and AUKUS, Dr. Graham breaks down how nations are responding to China’s growing assertiveness.

The conversation also explores the ripple effects of tensions in the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz and offers a clear-eyed 10-year outlook on the shifting balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.

Topics Covered:

• The geographic and geopolitical importance of the Indo-Pacific region
• Why the Straits of Malacca and Taiwan are global trade lifelines under pressure
• The rise of minilateralism and the future of alliances in Asia
• How Australia, Japan, and the Philippines are coordinating to counter China
• The strategic connection between the Strait of Hormuz and Indo-Pacific security
• Where the balance of power in the region is headed over the next decade

Guest:
Dr. Euan Graham is an international security analyst with deep expertise in the Indo-Pacific. He has held senior roles at leading think tanks in Australia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, served in the British Foreign Office (including a diplomatic posting in North Korea), and is the author of Australia’s Security in China’s Shadow and Japan’s Sea Lane Security 1940–2004.

For centuries, the Port of Rotterdam was a global gateway focused on efficiency and profit. Today, it is at the center of a complex geopolitical puzzle where trade, security, and energy independence collide.

In this episode, Frans-Paul van der Putten, a leading expert on geopolitics and author of China Resurrected, joins us to explore how Europe’s largest port is navigating a challenging world. We discuss the lessons in resilience learned from the war in Ukraine, the disruptions in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the challenge of maintaining strategic control over infrastructure amid growing global competition.

Key Topics:

• From Commerce to Security: Rotterdam’s evolution into a pillar of European safety.
• The China Factor: Navigating terminal investments without losing sovereignty.
• Global Resilience: Adapting to chokepoints and the US-China rivalry.
• His book is China Resurrected: How history shapes China’s behavior as a modern superpower.

About the Guest:

Frans-Paul van der Putten is a geopolitical analyst, founder of ChinaGeopolitics, and Senior Research Associate at the Clingendael Institute. He specializes in China-Europe relations and economic security.

En este episodio, nos acompaña Alejandro Peña Esclusa, con quien analizamos el nuevo equilibrio de poder en Venezuela tras la captura de Nicolás Maduro Moros, el dictador comunista.

¿Estamos ante una verdadera transición democrática o solo una reconfiguración del chavismo bajo tutela externa?

Hablamos de los tres escenarios más probables a corto y mediano plazo, de la sostenibilidad de una posible “transición tutelada”, de los riesgos geopolíticos para la región y del futuro del Foro de São Paulo y de sus alianzas con Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Rusia, China e Irán.

Además, exploramos las implicaciones para la migración y la diáspora venezolana y cuál sería el escenario más favorable para Venezuela y América Latina.

Un análisis profundo y sin filtros con uno de los mayores expertos en geopolítica latinoamericana.