Central America

Will OAS summit broach drug decrim?

The OAS summit in Guatemala opens in the wake of a ground-breaking report dissenting from the US-led “drug war” and broaching decrim and legalization strategies.

The Andes

‘Narco-pardons’ scandal shakes Peru elite

A parliamentary Mega-Commission investigating corruption under ex-president Álan García has shocked Peru with its findings that hundreds of narco-traffickers were pardoned.

The Andes

Peru: protests over militarization of coca zone

Peasants protested in Peru's coca-producing Apurímac-Ene River Valley after army troops fired on a public transport microbus, injuring nine. A state of emergency permits impunity. 

Greater Middle East

Lebanon’s hashish valley drawn into Syrian war

Lebanon’s hashish heartland of the Bekaa Valley is increasingly embroiled in the civil war raging across the border in Syria, with a wave of sectarian clashes and abductions.

The Andes

BogotĂĄ, FARC reach deal on land reform

Negotiators from Colombia's government and the FARC rebels signed an agreement on agrarian reform, calling for redistribution of illegally held or underused lands.

Mexico

Mexico: violence escalates in MichoacĂĄn

Violence continues to escalate in Mexico’s west-central state of MichoacĂĄn, with transport suspended to several conflicted towns, leaving them cut off from the outside world. 

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: opium crop breaks record

Opium cultivation in Afghanistan is expected to increase for a third straight year, expanding even to new areas of the country, warns the UN Office of Drugs and Crime.