Mexican drug lord Héctor Beltrán Leyva died of a heart attack on November 19. He was the last of his brothers at the head of the Beltrán Leyva cartel before he was arrested and jailed in 2014. The cartel started by operating in the state of Sinaloa and it controlled some of the main smuggling…
The influence of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a Colombian armed group, is growing as the group reportedly operates on Venezuelan territory. Venezuela’s minister of defence raised criticisms towards the Colombian authorities, saying that they were not able to contain the threat of criminal groups and drug trafficking. Academics, researchers, and journalists, met on November…
14 people were arrested in San Matías, a Bolivian city located near the Brazilian border. The arrests took place during an operation conducted by the Bolivian security forces to take control over the city after they were chased from it in June. The city is described as a “crime hotspot” for both Brazilian and Bolivian…
Operation Lionfish, an INTERPOL-led global effort against trafficking of illicit substances and drugs, was launched between 17 September and 8 October 2018, simultaneously across 93 countries. The operation resulted in the seizure of more than 55 tonnes of illicit substances including 35 tonnes of cocaine, five tonnes of heroin, 15 tonnes of cannabis and 430,000…
A report by Euromonitor International shows that the illicit market of alcohol is a growing source of income for criminal organisation in Latin America. According to the report, the annual illegal sales of alcohol amount to $4.8 billion. Colombia Attorney General has proposed a new disruption policy to fight increasing drug production in the country,…
