FARC factionalizing amid peace talks?
With peace talks underway in Oslo, Colombian politicians warn that the FARC’s Southern Bloc is continuing to recruit with an eye towards continuing the insurgency.
Tag: narco wars
Mexico
Indigenous communities rise up in Michoacán
For the second time in less than two years, an indigenous community in the Mexican state of Michoacán has erected barricades and seized control of security matters.
The Andes
Peru: narco-mineral integration
The US Justice Department has frozen the assets of mineral companies owned by Peru’s Sánchez-Paredes family, finding that they are fronts for cocaine trafficking.
The Amazon
Colombia apologizes for Amazon genocide
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos on Día de La Raza issued an official apology to indigenous communities in the Amazon for devastation caused by the rubber boom.
Central America
Guatemala claims arrest of local Zetas boss
Guatemalan authorities arrested the presumed leader of a Zetas cell in the region along the Mexican border, where the group's incursion has forced the displacement of local residents.
North America
MS-13 gang makes US ‘criminal organization’ list
Mara Salvatrucha, the Salvadoran street gang that got its start in Los Angeles' Koreatown, has been officially designated by US authorities as an "transnational criminal organization."
Mexico
Mexico: Zetas kingpin in cadaver caper?
Mexico announced the death of Heriberto Lazcano, maximum leader of Los Zetas—but the body was seized by an armed commando before identification could be confirmed.
Mexico
Friendly fire blamed for Border Patrol death
Friendly fire caused the death of a Border Patrol agent near the Arizona-Mexico border, the FBI now says—ending days of speculation that Mexican smugglers shot the agent.
The Andes
Peru coca crop rises for sixth year: UN
A new report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime says that Peru has now achieved rough parity with Colombia in coca production, with vast new areas coming under cultivation.
Mexico
Mexico: Zetas’ ‘El Taliban’ busted by federals
Mexican naval forces announced the arrest of Iván Velázquez, AKA “El Taliban”—said to be a top commander of Los Zetas who had recently defected to the rival Gulf Cartel.
Mexico
Army troops sent to patrol Mexico City suburb
Mexico has for the first time sent soldiers to patrol suburbs of the capital, following the slaying of a politician in Nezahualcóyotl—the latest in a wave of killings in the district.
The Andes
‘El Loco’ Barrera, Colombia’s most wanted, busted in Venezuela
Authorities from four countries cooperated in a months-long operation that led to the arrest in Venezuela of Daniel Barrera AKA "El Loco"—dubbed the "last of the great capos."