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FARC Drug Trade Proposals a Mixed Bag for Govt Negotiators
Colombia's FARC guerrillas have published their proposal to end illicit drug production, and while some of it will resonate with government negotiators, an agreement is unlikely if the rebels insist on...
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Were Brazil Police Behind Killing Spree?
Tensions are building in the city of Campinas, Brazil after what residents suspect was a series of revenge killings carried out by military police, once again raising the issue of extrajudicial...
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The Just King of Honduras' Prison from Hell
In the heart of San Pedro Sula, the most violent city in the world, there is a prison that lives in peace. A 27-year-old thief who decapitated his predecessor governs the prison with the backing of the...
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Sophisticated Argentina Property Theft Ring Indicates State Weakness
The recovery of $1 million of art stolen by property thieves from a deceased artist in Argentina provides one illustration of a blossoming regional crime facilitated by state weakness and corruption....
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$3 Mn Spent in 2 Years on Failing Honduras Police Reform
Almost $3 million has been spent on police reform in Honduras in the past two years, a sum that has brought few results, as highlighted by a recent drug money smuggling case pointing to police...
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Paraguay False Medicine Bust Small Victory vs Thriving Trade
Authorities in Paraguay have dismantled a third laboratory in three months dedicated to producing counterfeit pharmaceuticals, highlighting an illicit domestic trade that officials say makes up 30...
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Chile Human Trafficking 'Invisible Problem' For Lack of Investigation
Experts say the trafficking of migrants to Chile for forced labor is facilitated by their invisibility and the lack of investigation by authorities, while the economic prosperity in one of the region's...
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What Did the FARC Truce Tell Us?
The unilateral truce called by Colombia's rebels over Christmas ended with very few, but telling violations, suggesting that the guerrilla leadership is still seeing its orders obeyed for the most...
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2013 Dangerous Cities List Shows LatAm's Shifting Crime Landscape
The 2013 list of the world's 50 most dangerous cities, compiled by an NGO from Mexico, shows how shifting criminal dynamics through the year have affected violence in places like Cali, San Salvador,...
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Police Corruption Fuels Rise of Extortion in Peru
Extortion by criminal groups is now an accepted cost of doing business for small businesses and construction companies in Peru, according to experts. The practice is facilitated by corrupt police...
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Armed Clashes Subside but Michoacan's Vigilante Crisis Continues
Mexico's federal security forces say they have taken control of security in 20 municipalities in troubled Michoacan, but there is little evidence to suggest the self-defense militias are disarming or...
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Mexico's Vigilantes: A Defining Question for Peña Nieto
The violent state of Michoacan continues to be the largest stone in President Enrique Peña Nieto's shoe as he attempts to drag Mexico's image as a blood-filled crime cauldron towards that of a...
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Nicaragua Strikes at Rampant Land Trafficking in Indigenous Territory
Nicaragua's army has captured the alleged leader of a ring of land traffickers – a common crime in the country with links to timber mafias, cattle ranchers and corrupt officials. The military's...
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Honduras Approves Drug Plane Shoot-Down Law, Bolivia Set to Follow
Honduras' congress has approved a drug plane shoot-down policy aimed at attacking the cocaine air bridge into the country, a policy Bolivia seems set to emulate. The "Law of Aerial Exclusion"...
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Colombia and Italy Busts Highlight Continuing Drug Flow
Authorities in Colombia and Italy have arrested 13 people who formed part of a drug ring connected to the Italian mafia, evidence that drugs continue to flow towards Europe despite some key arrests in...
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Can Venezuela's Violence Be Blamed on Colombian Criminals?
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has blamed the country's violence and drug trafficking on criminals from Colombia, an analysis that fails to take into account the growth of domestic organized...
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Paraguay Rebels Accuse Government of Drug Trafficking: Video
The EPP has accused Paraguay's government of complicity in drug trafficking and corruption in two new videos, which authorities insist will provide valuable information on the guerrilla group. Filmed...
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Colombia Hitman Arrested in Spain Was 'Rastrojos Europe Link'
A hitman from Colombia arrested in Spain for a double homicide in Holland allegedly acted as a link between the Rastrojos and European criminal groups, in a further sign of the penetration of Colombian...
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Knights Templar 'Leader' Arrested As Pressure on Mexico Cartel Mounts
Authorities in Michoacan, Mexico have arrested an alleged top Knights Templar leader, as the government's pursuit of the group's leadership adds to mounting pressures on the cartel. Jesus Vasquez...
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El Salvador Bus Extortion Doubles to $36 Mn Amid Failing Gang Truce
Extortion fees demanded by gangs from El Salvador's bus companies have doubled in the past year to $3 million per month, another sign of the problems inherent in the country's waning gang truce....
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