Mexico
Mexico: cartels declare open season on candidates
Mexico's drug cartels appear to have declared open season on any candidate for public office who will not toe their line in the run-up to June's midterm elections.
Tag: narco wars
Mexico
Chiapas peasants march against narco-violence
Maya indigenous peasants in Mexico's southern Chiapas state marched cross-country to oppose violence by narco gangs and the corruption of local authorities that protect them.
Mexico
Kin of missing Mexican students take protest to US
Family members of some of the 43 missing students held a vigil in New York City's Union Square—one stop on a tour of US cities to raise awareness on their plight.
The Andes
Colombia: DEA agents in new prostitution scandal
DEA agents in Colombia held sex parties with prostitutes hired by narco-traffickers, according to an investigation released by the US Justice Department.
Greater Middle East
Yemen war fuels dope-for-guns trade
Both sides in Yemen's bitter Sunni-Shi'ite divide—equally intolerant of hashish-smokers and khat-chewers—are turning to the dope trade to fund their arsenals.
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.
The Andes
Chemical in Colombia spraying called carcinogen
The World Health Organization reclassified the herbicide glyphosate as a cancer threat—big news in Colombia, where the government sprays millions of acres to eradicate coca.
The Andes
Colombia: peace efforts bear (tentative) fruit
Colombians made history as tens of thousands took to the streets in cities and towns nationwide to show their support for peace talks between the government and FARC guerillas.
The Andes
Colombia: peasants detain troops… again
A detachment of some 20 special anti-narcotics agents of the National Police were detained by indigenous peasants at the hamlet of Alto Naya, in Colombia's Cauca region.
Southeast Asia
Burma opium war spills into China
After weeks of escalating tensions along the remote mountain border, a Burmese MiG-29 fighter jet carried out an air-strike on Chinese territory, killing four farm workers.
Mexico
Mexico: narco-gang decapitates mayoral candidate
Aide Nava, running for mayor in Mexico's conflicted southern state of Guerrero, was found decapitated a day after she was abducted in her hometown of Ahuacuotzingo.
Mexico
Mexico’s notorious ‘Z-42’ busted
Mexican authorities announced the capture of Omar Treviño AKA "Z-42"—leader of Los Zetas, the ultra-violent narco-paramilitary network that has long terrorized the country.