The Brazilian armed forces on Aug. 7 launched Operation Agata 5 near the border with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, the fifth in a series of military actions along the Brazilian border since August 2011. Agata 5 involves about 9,000 military personnel, fighter jets, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and river patrol ships along with about 1,000 members of various civil security and inspection services including state and federal police, Brazilian intelligence and environmental protection and customs agencies. These operations ostensibly aim to curb cross-border criminal activities such as smuggling and illegal resource extraction, but they also serve a deeper purpose for the Brazilian military. Brasilia sees the operations as a way to familiarize its armed forces with recently acquired equipment in a relatively low-risk tactical environment. More important, the actions will help the military grow accustomed to Brazil's newly established military doctrine of joint force action, which involves multiple military service branches operating in a coordinated manner to improve fighting capabilities. Neighboring states have not failed to notice these repeated, thousands-strong military actions along the border. In an effort to allay potential fears, the Brazilian military has sent high-ranking officers to neighboring countries to address these countries' concerns, invited military observers from these countries on a number of opportunities and, whenever possible, has tried to coordinate joint crime-fighting operations with its military or police counterparts in neighboring states, as seen in joint efforts with Colombia and Venezuela. The stated purpose of these operations — to fight border crime — is a real one, as evidenced by the several hundred kilograms of drugs and the weaponry, munitions, explosives, vehicles and other contraband that have been seized. Illegal logging camps, prospecting bases and smuggler plane runways have also been destroyed in the Amazon during each operation. However, the Agata operations are only temporary efforts and will have minimal long-term impact on criminal activity. The borders are simply too long, remote and rugged for periodic security measures to fully eradicate crime. Still, the operations' potential to improve Brazilian military capabilities could have more important strategic ramifications.
