The Andes
Colombia: will paras fill post-FARC power vacuum?
Rights groups see an urgent threat that criminal gangs and paramilitary groups will fill the power vacuum in remote areas of Colombia as the FARC is demobilized.
Tag: cocaine
The Andes
Plan Colombia to become ‘Peace Colombia’?
At their White House meeting, Obama and Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos proposed a "Marshall Plan" for the post-conflict era, to be dubbed "Peace Colombia."
The Andes
DEA sees Hezbollah link to Colombian cartel
The DEA claims that Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah is laundering money for the "Oficina de Envigado," successor organization to Colombia's legendary Medellín Cartel.
The Andes
Colombia: peace talks with ELN guerillas?
Colombia's government says it hopes to extend the peace process to the ELN guerillas—and claims to have identified the remains of their revered founder, Camilo Torres.
The Andes
Colombia: paramilitary threat to peace seen
As the war between the Colombian state and the FARC guerillas winds down, conflict is escalating with right-wing paramilitaries in the north, leaving hundreds displaced.
Mexico
Extraditions signal continued Sinaloa impunity?
Mexico extradited 13 top drug-trafficking suspects to the United States—but all from Los Zetas and other rival organzations to the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Andes
Colombia overtakes Peru in coca production
Colombia surpassed Peru last year in land under coca cultivation, resuming the dubious honor of the number one position for the first time since 2012.
The Andes
Peru: Sendero links to Colombian cartel claimed
Peru's authorities claim to have evidence that the neo-Senderistas are in league with a re-organized Colombian cocaine cartel, ironically known as the "Cafeteros" (coffee-producers).
Central America
Narco angle in Guatemala political crisis
Protesters are demanding that Guatemala's President Otto Pérez step down following corruption revelations—including claims linking his administration to narco-traffickers.
The Andes
Colombia: manhunt for paramilitary warlord
Authorities in Colombia are carrying out a manhunt Dario Antonio Usuga AKA "Otoniel"—the biggest since the campaign that brought down the legendary Pablo Escobar in 1993.
Mexico
Another sentencing in Sinaloa-Chicago connection
Twin brothers were the latest to be sentenced in a series of high-profile cases targeting Sinaloa Cartel operations in Chicago—despite having infiltrated the cartel for the DEA.
Greater Middle East
ISIS burns cannabis, snorts coke?
As ISIS burns the cannabis fields of northern Syria, Kurdish fighters at Kobani claim that ISIS forces besieging the town are snorting cocaine to keep their spirits up.