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Drug Trafficking Drives Deforestation in Central America: Study
Drug trafficking is responsible for the massive destruction of rainforests across Central America, according to a new study, destroying huge swathes of land for airstrips, roads, and cattle ranches...
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Guatemala Bus Extortion Case: Maras Adopting Zetas Methods?
A group of Guatemala bus extortionists recently sentenced to prison were apparently paying a quota to street gangs, suggesting the Guatemalan Maras have adopted a territorial model associated with...
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Guatemala Poppy Eradication Campaign Takes on Rising Cultivation
Authorities in Guatemala have eradicated 65 hectares of poppy despite fierce resistance from farmers, as the country struggles to tackle record amounts of opium poppy cultivation along the border with...
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27 Criminals Behind Caracas Kidnapping Chaos: Police
A Venezuela police report asserted that 27 criminals were responsible for the majority of kidnappings in Caracas, a crime that is reaching epidemic proportions and contributing to the country's slide...
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Stealing Fuel from Pipelines Big Business in Mexico
More than 2000 illegal valves placed on Mexico's oil pipelines are sucking vast quantities of fuel from the state oil company Pemex, and have spawned an illegal industry worth millions. Figures...
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Argentina 'No' to Military Use in Drug War Bucks Regional Trend
Argentina's defense minister has rejected the possibility of deploying the military to combat the growing problem of drug trafficking, a wise move given the nature of country's underworld and criminal...
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Do People in Venezuela Support Civilian or Military Policing?
Since our last article in this series there have been significant changes in the administration of citizen security in Venezuela. The murder of actress Monica Spear and her husband last month...
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Mexico Sex Traffickers Using Child Recruiters in Evolving Trade
Sex traffickers in Mexico have reportedly begun using underage girls to recruit other minors for sexual exploitation, reflecting a broader trend of the increasing use of children by organized crime....
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Assault on UPP Base Sign of Cracks in Rio's 'Pacification' Program
Brazil's military police have killed six people in response to a gang assault against a Rio de Janeiro Police Pacification Unit, as the city's "pacification" program wavers in the face of regrouping...
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Corruption Fueling Black Markets in Guatemala Prisons
Corruption in Guatemala's prisons has created a prison black market where everything from cell phones to prison transfers are for sale, in another sign of the deep rooted institutional weakness rife in...
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The Risks and Benefits of Legalizing Mexico's Vigilantes
Animal Politico consulted experts who explained the risks and benefits of legalizing the vigilantes in Michoacan, Mexico, following the signing of an eight-point agreement between the three levels of...
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Rise in Argentina Ecstasy Seizures Suggest Production Migration
Seizures of ecstasy tablets in Buenos Aires increased 2,900 percent between 2011 and 2013, in what could be a sign that the country's growing domestic market for synthetic drugs is leading to a...
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Zetas Training US Gang Members in Mexico: Witness
Members of the Texas-born Barrio Azteca gang are receiving training from Mexico's Zetas, according to the testimony of a former gang member, a sign the group is evolving and deepening its role in...
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Colombia Seizing Over $300,000 of Contraband a Day
In just the first 20 days of January 2014, Colombia's tax and customs police (Polfa) seized nearly $6.5 million in contraband products. The most commonly smuggled items were clothes, shoes and food,...
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Will Ecuador Extortion Rise with Growth of International Organized Crime?
Prosecutors in Ecuador are investigating a wave of extortions believed to have been carried out by the same criminal group, raising the question of what effect the growing presence of transnational...
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Could it Be that the Venezuela Murder Rate Did Peak in 2008?
As Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres and the Venezuelan Violence Observatory battle it out over the 2013 murder figures, most Venezuelans shrug their shoulders and believe who they want to...
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Mexico Vigilantes' Protection Fees Echo Colombia's Paramilitaries
Mexico mining companies extorted by criminal groups are reportedly paying Michoacan self-defense forces for protection, a development that places the groups on a disturbingly similar path to that taken...
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Can Peru Extend Coca Eradication Success into the VRAEM?
The Peruvian government has announced plans to attempt major coca eradication in the VRAEM region for the first time this year, a necessary step but one that could lead to violent confrontation. Peru's...
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Barrio Azteca
The Barrio Azteca prison gang emerged in Texas prisons, later served as armed support to the Juarez Cartel, and has since evolved to control local drug trafficking in Juarez. The gang's highly...
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Rumors Fuel The Legend of the "Narco-Saint"
The reported arrest of a financial operator for "The Craziest One," the former leader of Mexico's Familia Michoacana, has fueled rumors that the cartel boss, hailed by followers as a saint, is still...
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