Operation Orion, the Colombia-led multinational anti-narcotics operation has seized 94.2 tonnes of cocaine in its third phase, over a period of 105 days. The seizure is estimated around $3.2 billion. 26.7 tonnes or marijuana valued at $133.7 million were also seized. Orion is a joint naval operation involving 18 countries from Latin America, Europe and…
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…
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…
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…
In coordination with the National Gendarmerie of Argentina, the Bolivian police arrested in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, an Argentinian drug-trafficker dubbed the “Chapo Guzmán” of South America. The man was reportedly trafficking drugs from Bolivia to Argentina using small planes and he had managed to escape from jail several times with the help…
Nigeria’s president in office Muhammad Buhari won the 2019 election with 15.2 million votes compared with 11.3 million votes for his opponent. At the announcement of the results, the opposition party claimed that the vote was manipulated by the ruling party. Iván Duque announced that the government of Colombia’s new security plan will not include…
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…
