MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas — The failed strategy by the Mexican government has created a new issue in this border city where organized crime has tried to diminish common crime in an effort to lower public attention. Drug cartels appear to be succeeding in lowering common crime, something that the State of Tamaulipas has failed in. “They…
Category: Cartel Corner
Cartel Corner History: The Man Who Tried To Run Forever
Twenty-four years ago today, Pablo Escobar walked out of prison, setting off a massive 18-month manhunt. In season two of Narcos, the hunt is on. Watch the new trailer, and don’t miss new episodes of Narcos, streaming on Netflix September 2. It was humiliating. He practically walked out of jail and disappeared into thin air….
Texas Border News: Headless Body Leads to Arrest of TX Border Patrol Agent
The Texas Tribune is taking a year-long look at the issues of border security and immigration. This part of the project focuses on U.S. law enforcement corruption, which has undermined efforts to secure the border. SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Tex. — It looked like a crab trap floating in the calm waters of Laguna Madre, just…
Cartel Corner #88: Cartels Near Texas Border Armed with RPG’s
The Mexican Los Zetas cartel controls portions of the Texas-Mexico border and has proven to possess Russian rocket-propelled grenade launchers and the grenades (RPGs). This is significant in that the Mexican transnational group has shown a willingness to fire upon U.S. aircraft, such as they did on June 5, 2015 in the Laredo Sector along…
Modern Crime: Security Firms are Big Source of Weapons for Rio Criminals
Over 30 percent of all weapons belonging to private security firms in Rio de Janeiro end up in the hands of criminals, authorities say, highlighting an important yet often overlooked source of firearms for criminal groups throughout Latin America. A Federal Police report accessed by Globo states that at least 17,662 firearms were diverted or…
Cartel Corner #81: Organized Crime and Narco-Terrorism in Peru Now on U.S. Radar
From May 8 through May 13, I had the opportunity to participate in the international Special Operations Forces exercise “Fuerzas Comando” in Lima, Peru. The event occurred at a pivotal moment, just after the first round of Peru’s presidential elections in early April. The exercise also occurred little more than a month after the terrorist…
Cartel Corner #80: Infiltrating the Dope Game
Anti-drug agents are usually extremely cautious about spilling the beans on their secret world, which lies somewhere between espionage, police work and battlefield. But here’s a rare inside look, offered by a veteran of the drug war. Mike Vigil, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s former chief of international operations, served more than three decades in the agency,…
Modern Crime: The Golden Age of Drug Trafficking
Diplomats and top officials from governments around the world gathered last week at United Nations headquarters in New York to discuss what to do about the global drug problem. Over the course of four days and multiple discussions, the assembled dignitaries vowed to take a more comprehensive approach to the issue than in years past…
Cartel Corner #76: Drug Mules Beware! This is What Happens When a Bag of Cocaine Burst In Your Stomach…
This article originally appeared on VICE Spain. On March 22, a Lithuanian man landed in Barcelona and boarded metro line 9 with his luggage, but without a ticket. Witnesses describe how he started behaving weirdly, and when security guards came up to him and asked for a ticket, he fell on the ground and started…
Cartel Corner #75: Cuban Ship Busted Hauling 900 lbs. of Cocaine
Castro has had his hands in narco-trafficking since the early days as a means to both fill his coffers and arm Communist left wing guerilla insurgencies in latin america and around the world. But Obama supports and recognizes him anyway. -SF Nearly 900 pounds of cocaine was found Thursday on a Cuban ship in Panama…