Uruguay, the first country to legalise recreational use of marijuana, becomes the first in Latin America to export it for medicinal purposes. Germany is set to be its first client. The United-Kingdom is currently dominating exports in medicinal marijuana. Americas Quarterly highlights the 3 measures Brazil should take to stem organised crime. First, build new…
From 22 to 26 April 2019, Joint Airport Interdiction Task Forces from 8 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean benefitted from a regional online interactive training on intelligence and analysis for border control management at international airports, alongside other law enforcement officers. Overall, 120 persons from Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Colombia, the…
The increase of cocaine production in Colombia has boosted the vulnerability of the Panamanian maritime transport industry. In 2018, the authorities of Colón arrested 330 people and seized 12 tonnes of cocaine, half of it in the port terminals. On the other side of the route, the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp have registered an…
On April 1, the Ecuadorian authorities detected an aircraft reportedly carrying drugs and making an unauthorized landing in the province of Manabí. Although the plane managed to escape, nine alleged drug traffickers were arrested and US $ 200,000, four firearms and several vehicles were seized. Despite the efforts of the authorities, the “narco-flights” remain a…
The mission of the Cocaine Route Monitoring and Support (CORMS) on seaport cooperation’s state of play in five Latin American countries kicked-off in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the team attended the second Regional Workshop for Maritime Intelligence Units (MIUs) organised by the SEACOP project from March 19 to 21. The event was opened by a representative of the EU delegation to…
During the ministerial segment of the 62nd session of the CND, the Gambian Minister of the Interior announced that his government firmly opposed the decriminalisation of cannabis use highlighting that the drug was responsible for most of the drug-connected crimes in the Gambia. On Monday, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro started off his official visit to…
On Monday, the U.S Customs and Border Protection announced the seizure of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine, the biggest shipment of cocaine seized in New York and New Jersey in 25 years, in the Port of New York-Newark. The cocaine, which has an estimated street value of $77 million, was hidden in a shipping container originating…
The trial of the “Air Cocaine” drug-trafficking case started on 18 February in Aix-en-Provence, France. The case involves the seizure of 680 kilos of cocaine on board of a private jet in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic back in 2013. Both the pilots and passengers are facing up severe sentences. The kidnapping and assassination of three…
In 2018, the port of Rotterdam reached a peak in cocaine seizure with 19 tonnes. Of these, 4 tonnes were secured in December only. Most of the loads seized come from South America. On Tuesday, the UN Security Council discussed the pressing issue of transnational maritime crime. At this occasion the UNODC director highlighted the…
SEACOP officers and partners from Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean met in Natal, Brazil on November 27, 28 and 29. It was the first time that professionals from the Maritime Intelligence Units (MIU) had exchanged experience and good practice at a trans-regional level. During the workshop, the participants reviewed recent MIU led cases involving…
