A report from the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) critically analysed the UNODC 10-years plan to tackle drug trafficking and highlighted the human cost of the international war on drugs. According to the IDPC, despite UN efforts, drug-related deaths have increased 145% in the last decade. The US Department of Justice revealed a list of…
Costa Rica’s government is struggling to stall worsening violence driven by local criminal groups battling for control of domestic drug markets. Costa Rica is a key transshipment point for Colombian cocaine heading to the United States and Europe. Instead of making payments in dollars, transnational criminal organizations often pay local criminal groups in drugs. With…
The Costa-Rica Ministry of Public Security for surveillance against organised crime and illegal fishing will use a King Air 250 as a mobile radar to battle drug trafficking as well as to protect the marine life. Mexican police arrested Victor Manuel Perez, alias “Pantera 16” (Panther 16) or “Comandante Viento” (Commander Wind), regional leader of…
During its mission to Bolivia, CORMS attended, on 23 July, the presentation of the main findings from the UNODC’s work in supporting the process of destruction/incineration of illicit drugs seized in Bolivia in the first semester of 2018. The Representative of the UNODC in Bolivia, Mr. Thierry Rostan, who gave the presentation, recognised the work…
Left-wing candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador has claimed victory in Mexico’s presidential election, held on 1 July. One of his main policies is combating Mexico’s record levels of violence, much of it related to drug cartels. Epidiolex, a cannabis-based treatment for childhood epilepsy developed, is set to be launched in the autumn after being approved…
Conservative candidate Ivan Duque has won Colombia’s presidential runoff election on 17 June 2018. Duque’s presidential agenda included next to the peace deal also narco-trafficking. Colombia’s production of cocaine has increased, and armed groups are fighting each other for control of routes once controlled by FARC. The cocaine kingpin, Edgar Valdez Villarreal, known as “La…
Under the framework of CRIMJUST, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), supporting the Ministry of Security in Argentina, delivered, jointly with Secretariat for the fight Against Drug Trafficking, an advanced training course against drug trafficking on 4 June 2018. During the opening, Mr. Marco Teixeira, CRIMJUST coordinator, noted that the UNODC considers…
This year the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has several opportunities to revisit, rethink and reinvigorate the fight against organised crime in the region. The organisation is poised to significantly boost its role as a regional framework for policy development and action on serious issues, among which various forms of illicit trafficking, including…
The crisis in Guatemala has escalated after President Jimmy Morales
Brazilian armed security forces conducted another raid in Rio de Janeiro.
