News of drugs

At least 25 killed in police drug raid in Rio slum, says Brazilian media

06-05-2021 15:45 A massive police operation against drug-traffickers in a Rio de Janeiro favela Thursday left at least 24 suspects and a policeman dead, according to reports.

LEGAL MARIJUANA IN MEXICO?

Mexico prepares for legal marijuana gold rush

18-03-2021 11:52 Mexican lawmakers are close to approving legalisation that is expected to catapult the country's regulated cannabis trade into a billion-dollar legal marijuana market.

OBITUARY: DIEGO MARADONA (1960-2020)

Maradona: the icon who lead Argentina to glory

28-11-2020 08:41 Diego Maradona was arguably the greatest football player ever. Despite his flaws and demons, he was worshiped in Argentina.

DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA (1960-2020)

Maradona: Out of this world

28-11-2020 07:35 Diego Armando Maradona, the popular icon that Argentina was crying out for, blessed us mortals with 60 years in his magnetic presence. But now, the ‘Cosmic Kite’ has finally been called back to his home planet.

by Dan Edwards

CRIME & SECURITY

Sister of River Plate midfielder in custody after police stop uncovers 40kg of cocaine

23-11-2020 14:48 An elder sister of River Plate midfielder Nicolás De La Cruz was in Buenos Aires on Saturday while travelling in a taxi. Police officers find 40 kilogrammes of cocaine in vehicle.

Global pandemic

Trump, still infectious, back at White House — without a mask

06-10-2020 08:11 US President Donald Trump staged a dramatic return to the White House after leaving the military hospital where he was receiving an unprecedented level of care for Covid-19.

CRIME & SECURITY

Crime spirals out of control in troubled Rosario

05-10-2020 00:01 Rosario, Argentina’s third-largest city, has been suffering for years from escalating violence and the proliferation of drug gangs.

Murders in Colombia

Wave of massacres signals new chapter in Colombia's conflict

23-09-2020 17:35 Rather than a national dispute between guerrillas and the state, violence in rural Colombia is now marked by a patchwork of local feuds between criminal groups who fight over drug routes, illegal mines and even gasoline smuggling routes.

Interpol operation

Mafia fugitives arrested in Palermo in drug-smuggling sting

24-07-2020 16:42 Three alleged members of the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta mafia organisation were arrested in Buenos Aires last week and are now being processed for extradition to Italy. The sting was part of a larger Interpol investigation of 45 members of the organisation who are spread across the world.

survival during quarantine

The agony of Colombia's quarantined sex workers

22-04-2020 14:18 Survival has become a struggle for Colombia's sex workers during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. Now, with half of humanity in confinement and those places off limits, they are struggling on handouts and meager savings.

BLOOMBERG

Latin America, world’s most crime-ridden region, is suddenly serene

10-04-2020 15:31 In Latin America, coronavirus has driven people into their homes, disrupting patterns of work and school. One change has been welcome – a huge drop in the burglaries and killings that mar daily existence across much of the region.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

United States indicts Venezuela leader Maduro for 'narco-terrorism'

26-03-2020 16:21 In an extremely rare criminal case brought against a foreign head of state, US Justice Department accuses Venezuelan president of being leader of cocaine-trafficking group and offers US$15 million reward for his capture.

Human rights

Red Cross chief: 'Life without fear is overdue in Colombia'

05-03-2020 14:22 Despite peace deal between the government and FARC, violence and disappearances continues to plague Colombia.

Long Read

Warren Buffett's son tries to help Colombia kick cocaine curse

13-02-2020 11:57 Colombian President Iván Duque and Howard Buffet have developed a strong partnership through their efforts in steering Colombia away from cocaine.

DRUG-TRAFFICKING

Ex-Paraná mayor handed six years in jail for drug-trafficking

31-12-2019 11:43 UCR politician Sergio Varisco, allied with opposition Cambiemos coalition, found guilty of drug-trafficking crimes. He denies the allegations and will remain under house arrest until sentence is confirmed.

DRUG-TRAFFICKING

Four arrested in US$1 billion-plus cocaine seizure in Uruguay

30-12-2019 13:27 Authorities found 5.9 tons of cocaine, 4.4 tons of which was packed into cargo containers in the South Atlantic port of Montevideo.

Transition 2019

Health Ministry veteran González García to return, confirms Fernández

04-12-2019 17:07 Ginés González García will serve for a third time as nation's health minister, president-elect confirms – and he says he will reinstate the abortion protocol struck down last month by President Macri.

COCAINE RING

Hearings open in case of Russian cocaine ring in Argentina

29-11-2019 20:43 Preliminary hearing begins in Moscow regarding a case of an international drug smuggling ring which was uncovered in a joint sting operation by Argentine and Russian authorities in Buenos Aires.

Bloomberg

Nancy Pelosi on governing during Trump's impeachment process

01-11-2019 19:03 In an exclusive roundtable interview with Bloomberg editors and reporters, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi discusses health care, China, global trade and, of course, impeachment.

Election 2019

Kicillof: 'There are people selling drugs because they have lost their jobs'

07-10-2019 13:50 "From going to the neighborhoods I heard news that due to the drop in employment, there are people who selling drugs," says Kicillof, prompting criticism from Patricia Bullrich and Cristian Ritondo.

CRIME & SECURITY

Killings by police divide Rio, with Brazil's famed city weary of crime

22-08-2019 09:32 Brazilian human rights and victims' groups are raising alarms about the record levels of deaths at police hands in the state of 17.2 million people, with 1,075 slain in the first seven months of the year, according to official figures. And far-right Rio state Governor Wilson Witzel and President Jair Bolsonaro are pushing to give police a still-freer hand.