Drug Trade
Monday, March 28, 2016 - 07:29
The United States has spent $113 billion in Afghanistan since 2002, on reconstruction efforts alone—that money has been spent on the Afghan National Security Forces (for whom U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan to support fifteen years later), promoting good governance and "engaging in counter-narcotics," according to General John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016 - 05:14
Authorities in Panama disbanded a suspected Sinaloa Cartel cell, drawing attention to the underworld dynamics of this key transit country in the illegal drug trade.
Friday, March 4, 2016 - 07:19
The good news in Afghanistan is that for the first time since 2009, the area estimated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to be used in illicit opium poppy cultivation has decreased. But of course, it’s not that simple.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016 - 06:38
Two Pakistanis working on a US government counter-narcotics programme in the restless border region near Afghanistan have been killed by roadside bomb, John Kerry announced on Tuesday.
Monday, February 29, 2016 - 05:25
Colombia's indigenous agency (Onic) has expressed concern over the presence of fighters from the ELN, or National Liberation Army, in areas traditionally held by the Farc rebel group.
Friday, February 26, 2016 - 06:18
An estimated 300 Ecuadorian fishermen have been arrested on drug trafficking charges by foreign authorities in the last three years, highlighting the country's role as a regional hub for maritime trafficking.
Thursday, February 25, 2016 - 05:16
Law enforcement agencies under Panama’s Ministry of Public Security seized 58.11 tons of drugs in 2015. The amount, which included 52.26 tons of cocaine, is the highest volume of drugs the country's security forces have seized since 2000, according to the National Integrated Criminal Statistics System and the Prosecutor’s Office.
Thursday, February 25, 2016 - 05:15
Alfredo Beltrán Leyva, whose family once ran one of Mexico's biggest trafficking organizations, has pleaded guilty in a United States court to helping to ship tons of cocaine and methamphetamine to the US.
Monday, February 22, 2016 - 06:33
How could the world’s sole superpower have battled continuously for 15 years, deploying 100,000 of its finest troops, sacrificing the lives of 2,200 of those soldiers, spending more than a trillion dollars on its military operations, lavishing a record hundred billion more on “nation-building” and “reconstruction,” helping raise, fund, equip, and train an army of 350,000 Afghan allies, and still not be able to pacify one of the world’s most impoverished nations?
Tuesday, February 16, 2016 - 09:04
The United States spent more than $7 billion in the past 14 years to fight the runaway poppy production that has made Afghan opium the world’s biggest brand. Tens of billions more went to governance programs to stem corruption and train a credible police force.