- In Costa Rica, 2018 ended with a seizure of nearly a tonne of cocaine at sea. The operation was conducted by the Costa Rican Coast Guard Service in the South Pacific area of the country, close to the Panamanian border. This brings the total seizures for 2018 to 33.5 tonnes.
- Jair Bolsonaro, who began his term as president of Brazil on 1 January, is likely to make drastic changes to his country’s approach to tackling organised crime and violence. His agenda will likely prioritise measures such as gun ownership for citizens who have not been convicted for any crimes, and the protection of those police forces who combat criminal activities.
- In Niger, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency announced that 154 drug traffickers were arrested and 24 convicted in 2018.
- In Chile, an increasing number of Bolivian women are being convicted and jailed for transporting drugs from Bolivia. The drug traffickers recruit women from indigenous and poor communities to work as mules – possibly acknowledging that they will be arrested, thus taking the authorities’ attention away from larger smuggling operations.
