Southeast Asia
Burma: Kachin rebels agree to peace talks
With fighting escalating after a 17-year ceasefire broke down last year, Burma’s Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has agreed to talks with the government.
Tag: narco wars
Afghanistan
US blacklists Afghan airline for opium trafficking
One of Afghanistan’s top airlines has been officially blacklisted by US authorities for allegedly trafficking opium on civilian flights. The Kabul regime is demanding evidence.
Mexico
Mexico: campesinos bear arms against narcos
Cmpesinos in Mexico’s southern Guerrero state have taken up arms to defend themselves from drug-trafficking gangs that terrorize residents and demand protection payments.
The Andes
Colombia: prosecutor’s transfer sparks outcry
Jurists in Medellín are protesting the decision by Colombia's prosecutor to transfer attorney Patricia Hernández, who has spent years working against local paramilitaries.
Mexico
Mexico: victims’ movement calls for US gun control
54,558 people have signed a letter calling on US President Obama and other officials to stop the flow of smuggled firearms from the US to Mexican drug gangs.
Mexico
Mexico: US to train commandos for ‘drug war’
A US Special Operations group is set to train Mexican commandos to fight drug traffickers with the techniques the US military has used to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Central America
Honduras: deadly DEA raid —again
A suspected drug trafficker was killed in the first DEA-backed drug raid in Honduras following a five-month suspension in radar intelligence sharing between the countries.
The Andes
DEA back to Venezuela?
In the first sign of a thaw in relations between the US and Venezuela, Caracas is weighing a request from Washington to allow a return of DEA officials to the South American country.
The Andes
Colombia: FARC ends unilateral ceasefire
Colombia’s FARC rebels announced the immediate end of a two-month unilateral ceasefire and renewed its call for a bilateral truce to hold peace talks with the government.
North Africa
Algeria: army raids gas complex seized by jihadists
Algerian military forces attacked the Amenas gas complex in the interior Sahara, where a breakaway faction of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb took dozens of hostages.
Mexico
Peace of the graveyard in Ciudad Juárez?
Violent deaths in Ciudad Juárez dropped to 800 last year, down from a peak of 3,622 in 2010—likely because the Sinaloa Cartel has finally crushed local rival, the Juárez Cartel.
The Andes
Bolivia wins coca-chewing victory at UN
Bolivia was re-admitted to the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs —with a special dispensation recognizing traditional use of coca leaf as legal within its borders.