Iraq
ISIS burns Syrian cannabis fields
The farmers of northern Syria have been forced to grow cannabis, with all other economic activity disrupted by war. Now they face harsh privation as ISIS burns the cannabis fields.
Tag: narco wars
The Andes
Colombia: freed cartel hitman demands protection
The notorious "Popeye," personal hitman for late kingpin Pablo Escobar, was freed from prison—but is is receiving official protection from the Colombian government.
Mexico
Mexico: demand investigation of military massacre
Human Rights Watch called on Mexico to ensure an "impartial and effective" investigation into the killing of 22 civilians by soldiers in a raid on a supposed kidnapping gang.
Southern Cone
Brazil: deadly prison uprising ends in deal
Brazilian authorities reached a deal with inmates after a deadly prison uprising at Cascavel in Paraná state—one of many facilities where control of wards has been left to gangs.
Mexico
Mexico: torture increased 600% in 10 years
Reports of torture soared after Mexico's government began its militarized "war on drugs," but the tradition of de facto impunity for torturers appears not to have changed.
The Andes
Colombia: FARC meet army brass, coke flows on
Colombia's top brass held their first meeting with FARC leaders at peace talks in Havana—as Panamanian authorities claimed interception of a massive FARC cocaine shipment.
Greater Middle East
Saudis crack down on Yemeni smuggling pipeline
Border Guard patrols along Saudi Arabia's rugged mountain frontier with Yemen report mounting interceptions of hashish, weapons and other contraband.
The Caribbean
Aruba frees wanted Venezuelan ‘narco-general’
Gen.Hugo Carvajal, a top Venezuelan official wanted in the US on drug trafficking charges, was arrested in Aruba—but freed by the courts before he could be extradited.
Mexico
Sinaloa kingpin prevails in prison hunger strike
Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Chapo Guzmán claimed victory after leading a hunger strike joined by hundreds of inmates at Mexico's top-security Altiplano prison.
The Andes
Peru: new ops against ‘narco-senderistas’
Peru's National Police stepped up operations against "narco-senderistas"—surviving remnants of the Shining Path that control cocaine production in two remote pockets of jungle.
Mexico
Mexico: still more ‘narco-fosas’ uncovered
Mexican authorities unearthed five recently buried bodies from a clandestine grave in a rural pueblo of Sinaloa state—the latest in a long string of such gruesome finds.
The Amazon
‘Massacre’ evidence on Peru’s Amazon borderlands
Rare video footage of the "first contact" with an isolated indigenous band near the Brazil-Peru border has emerged—along with accounts of horrific violence against the group.