Newsbriefing – Week of 8 April

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…

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Newsbriefing – Week of 1 April

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…

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Newsbriefing – Week of 25 March

Nearly 750 military staff, mostly low-ranking officers, have reportedly perished since the Mexican government launched the “war on drugs” in 2006. Tamaulipas, a state located on the US-Mexico border accounts for the state where most of the most military deaths occurred. The Romanian police seized more than a ton of high-quality cocaine in a boat…

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Newsbriefing – Week of 18 March

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…

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Newsbriefing – Week of 11 March

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…

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Newsbriefing – Week of 4 March

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…

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Newsbriefing – Week of 25 February

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…

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Newsbriefing – Week of 18 February

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…

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Newsbriefing – Week of 11 February

The World Health Organization (WHO) has suggested the reclassification of cannabis as Schedule 1 of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. At least half of the 53 members of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs will have to ratify the proposed amendments, for the proposition to be accepted. However, many of these countries prohibit the use…

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