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.
Tag: narco wars
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.
Mexico
Mexico: did cartel organize attack on CIA agents?
US officials suspect that organized crime was behind an attack by Mexican federal police on a US embassy car on a road south of Mexico City. The police say it was just a mistake.
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.
Central America
UN report: drug trafficking threatens rule of law
Drug trafficking and violent crime in Central America and the Caribbean threaten the rule of law in those regions, according to a report by the UN Office of Drugs and Crime.
Mexico
Mexico: ambush of CIA agents mistaken identity?
Mexican authorities say federal police who ambushed a US embassy van carrying CIA agents, wounding two, simply confused the vehicle for one carrying kidnapping suspects.
Mexico
Report blasts US government for Fast and Furious
A government report on Operation Fast and Furious criticized officials but didn’t find evidence to back up conspiracy theories favored by the gun lobby.