Spain’s largest electricity company says daily power outages are caused by illegal indoor marijuana farms that overload the grid. “Easy excuse,” residents reply.
Tag: Drug Abuse and Traffic
New Evidence in 2014 Mass Kidnapping of Students in Iguala, Mexico
The Mexican police, military officers and others secretly colluded with a cartel that kidnapped 43 students, a case unsolved after nearly a decade. Wiretaps show just how much the authorities helped the cartel behind the mass abduction, and what led to…
Elections in Ecuador and Guatemala: Four Takeaways
Outsiders overperformed, underscoring the volatility of Latin American politics. Candidates calling to emulate El Salvador’s crackdown on crime did not do well.
How Ecuador’s Neighbors Unleashed Drug Violence on Its Soil
A presidential candidate’s assassination has focused global attention on the country’s extraordinary bloodshed fueled by powerful international and domestic crime groups.
Ecuador Reels From Assassination of Fernando Villavicencio
The killing of Fernando Villavicencio marks a grim turning point for a once-tranquil country now awash in violence fueled by drug gangs.
Mexico’s ‘Monster’ Trucks Show Cartels Taking Drug War to Next Level
Taking the monster truck concept to deadly new realms, cartels are modifying pickups with gun turrets, steel armoring and battering rams.
How Ecuador Became a Gold Rush Country for Drug Cartels
In Ecuador, an intelligence official said: “People consume abroad, but they don’t understand the consequences that take place here.”
US Raises Pressure on China to Combat Fentanyl Crisis
The Biden administration push comes after cooperation on halting the flow of the drug into the United States was derailed by wider geopolitical tensions.
Indonesian Official Accused of Enslaving People
Families in Indonesia thought they were sending their sons to a rehab facility run by a powerful local official. Those who stayed there say it was a brutal human slavery operation.
A U.S. Citizen Has Been Arrested in Russia, State Department Says
The man, Michael Travis Leake, has been accused of drug trafficking, according to Russian state media.