Cyprus Hosts US-Led Training to Block WMD Smuggling

Senior government officials from countries such as Algeria, Iraq, and Georgia are gathering at a nondescript facility in Cyprus to receive specialized training from U.S. experts.
Senior government officials from these nations are converging for high-level training aimed at securing their borders.
Led by top American experts, the program is designed to equip officials with advanced techniques to prevent materials that could be used in weapons of mass destruction from slipping across their borders.
The Cyprus Centre for Land, Open Seas and Port Security (CYCLOPS) teaches leaders of other countries to “do a better job in controlling their borders, in controlling the dispersion of weapons of mass destruction” said centre director Chrysilios Chrysiliou.
This, in turn, makes their citizens “much safer and more secure,” he added.
In just its third year of operation, CYCLOPS, which is funded by the U.S., has instructed over 2,000 officials from 20 different countries, including Yemen, Libya, Armenia.
All have benefited from training provided by U.S. personnel on nuclear and radiological detection, identifying techniques for smuggling weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and how to conduct chemical terrorism investigations.
On Monday, a group of Cypriot and Egyptian officials started a two-day seminar on maritime cybersecurity led by the U.S. based Sandia National Laboratories.
“This uniqueness has actually brought … a lot of success which could not had been foreseen when Cyclops was initially being created,” said Chrysiliou.
Chrysiliou credits the center’s success to the high-quality instruction provided by U.S. based experts, notably from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, institutions that bring specialized knowledge in counter-proliferation programs.
The center is equipped with an impressive array of advanced detectors capable of identifying radiological, chemical, biological agents, and explosives—technology that is beyond the reach of many neighboring countries in the region.
“Here, the participants have the opportunity to see the latest technology in detecting all of the range of the threats,” said Chrysiliou. “It’s like a showcase of what exists out in the market.”
Trainees learn how to detect and safely dispose of radiological components from discarded medical equipment that militants might repurpose to create weapons.
Another growing concern is the potential use of drones to spread chemical or biological agents over densely populated areas.
“There’s such a huge interest by different agencies of the U.S. and the U.N. too, because they have seen the value of utilizing CYCLOPS because of its proximity to their neighboring countries,” Chrysiliou said.
In a recent meeting, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and U.S. President Joe Biden highlighted the center as a good example of strengthened bilateral cooperation.
Funded with a $7 million grant from the U.S. government—$2 million of which was earmarked for border security equipment—the center leverages Cyprus’s strategic location near the Middle East to provide crucial training opportunities to regional officials with limited access to such resources.
Further bolstering its capabilities, the Cypriot government has secured an additional $5.6 million from the European Union for expanding the center and acquiring more advanced equipment.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press