The Andes
Peru: ‘opium mafia’ revealed in national police
The local anti-drug prosecutor in Peru’s Amazonas region has opened an investigation into 25 suspected of running an “opium mafia” within the security services.
Tag: narco wars
The Andes
‘Narco-pardons’ scandal shakes Peru elite
A parliamentary Mega-Commission investigating corruption under ex-president Ălan GarcĂa 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 rolls back ‘drug war’ cooperation with US
President Obama said he will wait until he meets with his Mexican counterpart Enrique Peña Nieto this week to discuss Mexico's decision to curtail access of US security agencies.
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.
The Andes
Colombia: narco-terrorist card in political play
Colombia's ex-VP Francisco Santos is accused of fabricating FARC attacks in a stratagem to undermine peace talks overseen by his cousin and rival President Manuel Santos.
Africa
US indicts Guinea-Bissau army chief on narco ties
The US accused Guinea-Bissau's top military official, Gen. Antonio Indjai, of plotting a cocaine-for-weapons deal with Colombia's FARC rebels—who were actually DEA agents.
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.
Mexico
Mexico: narco-violence from Yucatan to Rio Grande
Six people were strangled to death and one decapitated in the tourist resort of Cancún, while shoot-outs and new mass graves are reported from Monterrey and Tamaulipas.
The Andes
Sinaloa Cartel kingpin nabbed in Colombia
Colombia announced the arrest of Cesar Demar Vernaza AKA “El Empresario”âaccused crime boss of Ecuador and top South American operative of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.