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.
Tag: narco wars
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.
Mexico
Mexico: Knights Templar jefe busted
Mexican authoritie announced the capture of the country's most-wanted drug lord, Servando Gómez AKA "La Tuta"—boss of Michoacán's feared Knights Templar cartel.
The Andes
US troops to Peru’s coca zone
A force of US Marines has been mobilized to Peru's conflicted coca-growing jungle region, the Valley of the Apurímac and Ene Rivers, to assist in interdiction efforts.
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.
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.