drug war
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Buenaventura, Colombia has been racked by violence and crime for years. The port city is strategically important for drug traffickers, and a recent turf war between rival gangs has contributed to the bloodshed. Last month, a “shock plan” was proposed to bring new development projects to the area. This was accompanied by a “militarization” of the city, with the…
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Last week Vicente Jesus Zambada-Niebla (aka “Mayito”) pled guilty to drug trafficking charges in a US District Court in Chicago. “Mayito” is the son of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada-Garcia, the man who is believed to be the current head of the Sinaloa Cartel, Mexico’s most powerful criminal organization. El Mayo likely assumed the top spot in the cartel after the recent…
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Cross-posted with Conflict Journal This is a weekly roundup of events from 9 March to 17 March 2014. The head of Mexico’s federal police force has resigned as of Monday; Manuel Mondragon stepped down from his position as head of the National Security Commission but will still be working with the department on strategy efforts in…
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Cross-posted with Conflict Journal. This is a weekly roundup of events from 9 March to 15 March 2014. Former president Alvaro Uribe won a seat in the Senate in elections held this weekend. His newly formed party, the conservative Centro Democratico (Democratic Center), won 19 seats to become the second most powerful force in the senate behind…
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The US has been scaling back involvement in its “backyard,” Latin America, for quite some time. After focusing heavily on the Middle East in the early 2000s, Asia and Africa appear to be the regions America’s foreign policy establishment wants to prioritize next. Further evidence of this trend came yesterday, when it was reported that US Secretary of State…
Mike LaSusa 