Tag: narco wars

The Caribbean
Aegis

Potential war crimes seen in Trump’s Caribbean airstrikes

UN human rights experts raised concern over “repeated and systematic lethal attacks” by the US military against vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, which they said could constitute war crimes under international maritime law. Three UN special rapporteurs stated that the attacks “appear to be unlawful killings” that lack any “judicial or legal process allowing due process of law.” They said that no efforts were made to “apprehend the individuals or provide concrete evidence about why they were lawful targets.” They further charged that the strikes were not motivated by “national self-defence,” and did not target “individuals posing an imminent threat to life.” The experts said that they had raised these concerns directly with the US government, calling for an immediate halt to the strikes, and an independent investigation. (Photo: US Navy via Latin America Reports)

The Andes
Petro

US imposes sanctions on Colombian president

The US administration announced sanctions against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family, and Colombia’s Minister of the Interior Armando Benedetti. The US will also reduce financial assistance to Colombia by about $18 million. The Department of State said the move was “due to President Gustavo Petro’s disastrous and ineffective counternarcotics policies.” The Colombian government has recalled its ambassador to the United States in protest. Simultaneously, the Pentagon announced that it is moving the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its group to the Caribbean Sea, where the US military already hasapproximately 10,000 personnel pre-positioned. (Photo via MROnline)

Central America
PNC Guatemala

Anti-mara militarization in Guatemala

Guatemala’s Congress passed a law designating the Barrio 18 and MS-13 gangs as “terrorist organizations.” The move came days after 20 Barrio 18 convicts broke out of the maximum-security Fraijanes II prison outside the capital. The new “Ley Anti-pandillas” provides for heavier sentences for gang members convicted of crimes such as extortion or recruitment of minors, and calls for the construction of more-maximum security prisons. (Photo: Danilojramirez via Wikimedia Commons)

The Andes
Lima

Peru: new government prepares security crackdown

Peru’s Congress voted unanimously to remove President Dina Boluarte from office for “moral incapacity,” replacing her with congressional leader José Jerí. Once in office, Jerí quickly appointed as head of the Interior Ministry the former commander of the Peruvian National Police (PNP), Vicente Tiburcio Orbezo. Tiburcio has had a long career fighting organized crime and armed insurgents, having been part of the team within the PNP’s Special Intelligence Group (GEIN) that carried out the arrest of Shining Path leader Abimael Guzmán in 1992. He subsequently served in campaigns against both the Shining Path and Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). He was chosen by Jerí with a mission of addressing the crisis of “citizen security” in Peru. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Afghanistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Fighting breaks out along Durand Line

According to reports in Pakistan’s media, the Afghan Taliban and affiliated militants launched an attack from the Afghan side of the border, killing at least 23 Pakistani troops and injuring some 30 others. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated that troops responded to cross-border raids by “Fitna-e-Khawarij and Fitna-e-Hindustan terrorist elements.” This appears to be a reference to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary to. In contrast, a statement from Hamdullah Fitrat, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said that conditions on the “imaginary line” with Pakistan are under control. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been fraught with tension, especially around the disputed Durand Line border. Established in 1893 between British India and Afghanistan, this border has never been officially recognized by any Afghan government since the partition of India in 1947, leading to a persistent territorial dispute. (Map: Google)

The Caribbean
police

New international ‘Gang Suppression Force’ for Haiti

The UN Security Council approved a resolution transforming the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, whose mandate has ended, into a Gang Suppression Force (GSF). Sponsored by the United States and Panama, the new force is set to include up to 5,500 military and police officers—far more than the old MSS force, which mustered fewer than 1,000. It’s not clear which countries the personnel for the GSF will come from, but it will also have “a broader mandate” than the MSS, which was restricted to supporting the Haitian National Police (PNH). The initial 12-month mandate includes “intelligence-led targeted counter-gang operations,” as well as supporting the PNH and Haitian armed forces. (Photo: Amnesty Kenya via PolicingInsight)

The Andes
Venezuela

Trump officials push Venezuela regime change

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced that he is ready to declare a state of emergency in response to aggression by the United States. Such a declaration would give the army control over public services and the country’s oil industry, which Venezuelan leaders say the US is preparing to grab. US officials, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA director John Ratcliffe, are reported to be pushing plans to overthrow Maduro. The US has increased its naval presence in the Caribbean and launched repeated deadly strikes on civilian vessels in international waters off Venezuela. President Trump has claimed, without evidence, that the vessels were carrying drug traffickers. Rubio recently described Maduro as a “fugitive from American justice” who leads a terrorist and criminal organization bringing narcotics into the US, posing an “imminent, immediate threat.” (Image: Grunge Love via Flickr)

The Andes
CONAIE

Popular protests turn deadly in Ecuador

Widespread protests in Ecuador, sparked by cuts to fuel subsidies, reached a boiling point, as an indigenous land defender was killed by the armed forces, a government aid convoy was reportedly attacked by protesters, and 12 soldiers went missing. Meanwhile, the government continued to advance its plan to rewrite the constitution—an initiative that has further intensified public anger. Undeterred, the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (CONAIE), which initiated the nationwide strike, announced that it would extend the action. (Photo: CONAIE via Peoples Dispatch)

Iran
executions

UN monitors warn of dramatic surge in executions in Iran

The Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council reported that over 1,000 people have been executed in Iran in 2025, warning that this represents a dramatic escalation that violates international human rights law. The UN experts wrote: “With an average of more than nine hangings per day in recent weeks, Iran appears to be conducting executions at an industrial scale that defies all accepted standards of human rights protection.” A 2017 Amendment to Iran’s Anti-Narcotics Law abolished the death penalty for low-level drug offenses, and introduced a mechanism to limit capital punishment by commuting many death sentences to life imprisonment. Despite this, executions for drug-related offenses have steadily risen since 2020 and surged in 2024, which saw 503 drug-related executions—more than 50% of all executions in Iran that year. (Photo: ICHRI)

The Andes
Colombia

US ‘decertifies’ Colombia as drug war partner

The United States decertified Colombia as a reliable partner in the War on Drugs, citing a rise in coca cultivation and cocaine production. While the White House waived the crushing sanctions that usually come with decertification, the decision underscores the strained relations between the US and Colombia under Trump. The administration was quick to blame Colombian President Gustavo Petro directly, arguing in its submission to Congress that the “failure of Colombia to meet its drug control obligations over the past year rests solely with its political leadership.” The administration also decertified Venezuela, Bolivia, Afghanistan and Burma. While these latter countries have been frequently decertified over the years, this marks the first time Colombia has been decertified since 1997. (Map: PCL)

Southeast Asia
ICC

ICC prosecutors bring charges against Duterte

International Criminal Court prosecutors brought charges against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity, alleging he orchestrated thousands of murders during the grisly anti-drug campaign that has come to define his legacy. The prosecutors accuse Duterte of directing killings from 2011 to 2019, first as mayor of Davao City and later as president. They allege that as mayor he established “liquidation squads,” collectively known as the Davao Death Squad, and expanded such operations nationwide after taking office as president in 2016. (Photo: OSeveno/WikiMedia)

The Amazon
Yavarí

Peru nixes plan for Yavarí Mirim indigenous reserve

Officials in Peru voted against a proposal to create an indigenous reserve in the country’s Amazon rainforest, where isolated tribes face threats from logging, mining and drug trafficking. The decision will likely delay efforts to protect them by several years and could lead to their displacement, critics said. The proposed Yavarí Mirim Indigenous Reserve would have protected 1.17 million hectares (2.9 million acres) of rainforest in Loreto region, an area a fifth the size of Ireland that’s home to several indigenous communities living in isolation. A commission reviewed anthropological evidence of the communities’ presence in the area but voted in line with the interests of business sectors and logging concessions. (Photo: Pieritograbriel via Wikimedia Commons)