Mexico
Latin America: cartels build own arms industry
Mexican authorities busted another Zetas "narco-tank factory" in Nuevo Laredo on the Texas border—days after Brazilian police made a similar find in Sao Paulo.
Tag: narco wars
Mexico
Mexico cracks down on narco-oil
In an open acknowledgement that it cannot secure its pipeline system from plunder by criminal gangs, Mexico will no longer pump refined gasoline and diesel through the network.
Southeast Asia
Will Burma opium war draw in China?
The latest fighting in Burma's opium-producing hinterlands involves a Han Chinese ethnic group, the Kokang. Some 50,000 have fled across the border into China.
The Andes
Peru declares no-fly zone over coca valley
Peru announced a no-fly zone over the conflicted coca-producing region known as the VRAE—reviving a controversial policy that claimed innocent lives 14 years ago.
The Andes
Colombia: rights situation grim despite peace talks
A UN report warns that Colombia's humanitarian situation remains severe in spite of ongoing peace talks with the FARC, stressing continued paramilitary activity.
Mexico
Mexico: UN criticizes officials on disappearances
The Mexican government is facing more international criticism for its handling of some 22,600 cases of forced disappearances over the past eight years.
Africa
Sahara drug trade funds Boko Haram insurgency
Traffickers have established a dope-for-guns pipeline across the Sahel and Sahara, integrating Boko Haram into drug-smuggling networks that stretch to Asia.
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.
Central America
Central America: US pushes new ‘Plan Colombia’
The US is now seeking $1 billion from Congress for its plan to step up the failed "war on drugs" and failed neoliberal economic programs in Central America.
The Andes
Colombia: whither FARC’s future?
While Colombia's right fears incorporation of the FARC into a new rural police force, rebel leaders protest that the army continues offensives against them—despite peace talks.
Mexico
Mexico: cops arrested in ‘disappearance’ of reporter
Mexican authorities detained 13 police officers in the state of Veracruz in connection with the abduction of a journalist who aggressively covered local narco-corruption.
Greater Middle East
Lebanon’s hashish valley arms against ISIS
The Bekaa Valley's cannabis farmers, who armed to resist Lebanese army eradication efforts, now say they are ready to resist any ISIS incursion into their fastness.