The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been lambasted by the media, Congress and the gun lobby in the wake of the failed Operation Fast and Furious. It is the most criticized law enforcement agency in the United States today and yet has one of the most important, necessary and difficult briefs. It must enforce firearm laws in the United States, a country with an emotionally charged tradition of gun ownership. Continue Reading
Colombian cocaine production capacity is down by 72 percent since 2001, according to a study released last week by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). But the apparent victory may be increasingly irrelevant as cocaine markets diffuse to other regions and prescription drug abuse becomes an increasing problem. Continue Reading
If Mexico implements president-elect Enrique Peña Nieto’s proposed paramilitary force (gendarmerie) composed of 40,000 former soldiers, the success of the force and its impact upon drug-related violence will depend on its funding levels and initial selection process. The goal is laudable: remove the military from an essentially civilian police function by creating a force capable of fighting Mexican organized crime groups. Continue Reading
Bucking the trend of declining cocaine use in the United States, coca paste use (similar to crack cocaine) in Uruguay has been identified by the country’s current presidential administration as such a problem that it is proposing legislation to sell marijuana. The plan is a step beyond the decriminalization measures proposed by many countries in the region because it includes the sale, regulation and control of marijuana by the state. Continue Reading
In recent debates, all of the current Mexican presidential candidates have claimed they will shift from a counter-narcotic policy to a counter-violence policy. What would it mean in practice to emphasize violence reduction in lieu of a counter-narcotics policy?
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Last Thursday, Mexico’s Marines announced that, with signal intelligence from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), they had captured the son of notorious drug lord Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as El Chapo. El Chapo is the most wanted man in Mexico and leads the Sinaloa Cartel, the largest organized crime syndicate in Mexico, with the possible of exception of Los Zetas. His son, Alfredo Guzman Salazar, was arrested in Guadalajara with guns and $135,000, the Marines announced.
There was only one problem with this announcement, which was heard and reported on around the world.
It wasn’t true. Continue Reading
At a House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on June 20, Congressman James Sensenbrenner accused leading Mexican presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto of “a reversion” to the old policies of “turning a blind eye to the cartels” because of his proposal to fight drug-related violence in lieu of drug trafficking. Until now, the four candidates in Mexico’s presidential race have been vague on security policy, generally talking about reducing violence in the so-called “drug war.”
The accusation clearly riled Peña Nieto, who said the Republican congressman had a “lack of knowledge,” and declared himself “unwavering” in the fight against organized crime, according to the Associated Press. Continue Reading