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Deadly Coastal Firefight Inaugurates Honduras' New President
A firefight between security forces and a group of heavily armed suspected drug traffickers on Honduras' Caribbean coast left 2 killed and 12 captured, in a sign of the security challenges facing the...
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Argentina Hired Assassins Sign of Growing Drug Violence
Nearly half of the murders that occurred in the first 26 days of January in Rosario, Argentina, were committed by hired assassins, a sign for many that the drug trade is embedding itself deeper in the...
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Talk of 'Peace Zones,' Possibly More Gun Control in Venezuela
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has announced the creation of "peace zones" and his justice minister said the government should consider stricter gun control, a piecemeal approach in the face of...
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Mexico Vigilante Legalization Raises Paramilitary Concerns
Self-defense forces in Michoacan, Mexico have signed a legalization agreement with federal and regional authorities, a move that raises the specter of the paramilitary death squads in Colombia,...
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New Honduras President Sends Soldiers to Capital's Streets
Honduras' newly sworn in president has deployed military police and a new police unit to the streets of capital Tegucigalpa, in a move that could be a sign of his promised hardline approach to...
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Brazil Border Patrols Not Enough to Control Crime, Drugs: Police
Brazil's efforts to combat drug trafficking and organized crime by reinforcing border security have not been effective enough, say police, highlighting the difficulty of securing a massive border that...
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‘War on Drugs’ Subverts Human Rights, Strengthens Organized Crime: HRW
In the new annual report published by Human Rights Watch, the NGO argues that governments should decriminalize personal drug use to protect human rights, but does not address the potentially negative...
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Why Is El Salvador Police Chief Downplaying Homicide Spike?
El Salvador's police chief has denied the country's murder rate is rising and accused the media of misleading reporting, raising questions as to why he is downplaying the homicide spike that has...
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At Least 4 Top Honduras Cops Lead Drug Trafficking Rings: NGO
A representative from a leading NGO in Honduras has claimed at least four high-ranking police officials head drug trafficking organizations, a claim that underscores the depth of police corruption and...
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Can Mexico's New Anti-Kidnapping Body Stem the Growth of the Crime?
Mexico has created a new unit to combat rising kidnapping in the country, but the question remains of whether this body will tackle the crime more effectively than existing institutions have. The...
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Colombia Prison Riot Deaths Put Spotlight on Overcrowding
Ten inmates died and around 40 more were injured during a riot and a fire in a northern Colombia prison, highlighting chronic overcrowding in the country's jails and prompting calls for reform. The...
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A Legal Framework Will Not Solve Mexico's Vigilante Issue
If Mexico's government thinks that "legalizing" vigilante groups in the embattled state of Michoacan will solve its citizen security problems, it should have a closer look at the three other countries...
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US Border Drone Crash Distracts From Larger Issues in Their Use
The United States has grounded a fleet of drones used to monitor the border with Mexico following the crash of an unmanned aircraft, an event that distracts from larger issues surrounding the use of...
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Can New Anti-Human Trafficking Body in Brazil Really Have Impact?
A national body to combat human trafficking has been set up in Brazil as part of a new strategy aimed at tackling the crime; but without much needed changes in the law, slave labor in the country will...
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Death of Emerald Magnate's Son Raises Tensions in Colombia
Emerald miners in Colombia will soon meet with church and police representatives in an attempt to avert a bloody conflict, as ongoing tension highlights the government's failure to curb criminality in...
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Colombia-Venezuela to Launch New Contraband Crackdown
Colombia and Venezuela are to launch a new anti-smuggling initiative in an attempt to crack down on the huge amounts of contraband crossing their border daily, but local corruption could well prevent...
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How Gangs Grow Stronger in Brazil's Prisons
On January 4, the capital of Maranhao, Brazil, suffered a wave of coordinated attacks on buses and police stations, ordered by a local prison gang. The death of a 6-year-old girl in the attacks, along...
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Colombia Eco Trafficking Facilitated by Public Indifference: Experts
Ten trafficked animals are recovered each day at Colombia's busiest airport, marking the extent of this thriving illegal trade, which experts say is being left unchallenged by public indifference....
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Mexico Captures CJNG Leader, Investigates Links With Vigilantes
Authorities in Mexico have captured one of the top leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a significant blow to an influential criminal organization that has suspected links to Michoacan...
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'El Chapo' Guzman Gets His Own TV Show in United States
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's life and times are to be brought to television screens across the United States later this year, in a new series that is surely a dream come true for one of the world's most...
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