Archiv: (illegale) Drogen / Schmuggel / Handel / Kartelle / (illegal) drugs / smuggling / trade / cartels


17.04.2026 - 19:21 [ Mediapart.fr ]

Questions persist over prosecution of radical-left French MEP Rima Hassan for ‚condoning terrorism‘

(April 4, 2026)

On Thursday, expressions of support came almost entirely from LFI and the far-left. For the anti-capitalist NPA, Olivier Besancenot expressed his “solidarity with Rima Hassan” on X, as did Nathalie Arthaud, the spokesperson for the Trotskyist Lutte ouvrière (LO).

Two former LFI members, Alexis Corbière and Clémentine Autain, also spoke out. “A member of the European Parliament placed in police custody for a retweet? Freedom of expression applied selectively is not the Republic,” said the latter. “The disproportionate repression of expressions of support for Palestine is clear, it must stop,” wrote the former.

On Friday, a handful of elected representatives from other parties began to join the chorus of criticism, including the communist MP Elsa Faucillon, who deplored a “relentless campaign revealing the mobilisation of the state apparatus against any solidarity with Palestine” and the Green MP Benjamin Lucas, who denounced “double standards”. Another Green MP, Sandrine Rousseau, expressed her “support” for Rima Hassan.

More surprisingly, the socialist MEP Chloé Ridel, a close ally of the Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure, also commented: “Everything about the police custody imposed on the European Member of Parliament Rima Hassan is disproportionate and violates her parliamentary immunity, whatever our disagreements. Was Louis Sarkozy [editor‘s note, son of former president Nicolas Sarkozy and a political commentator] placed in custody when he said about Palestinians ‘let them all die’?”

04.03.2026 - 09:59 [ Politico.com ]

US launches military operations in Ecuador

After the operation to capture Maduro, Trump did not rule out using military force against targets in other countries in the name of combatting drug trafficking. The expectation, however, had been that Trump would conduct strikes in Mexico and Colombia, both of which have a more significant role in the drug trade.

24.02.2026 - 08:42 [ CBS News ]

Newly unearthed DEA document from Epstein files raises question: Did Epstein facilitate drug trafficking?

The document includes a DEA case number and lists the case‘s opening date as Dec. 17, 2010 in New York. It notes that the matter is „judicial pending,“ indicating that the investigation remained active at the time the memo was drafted 5 years later. One law enforcement source told CBS News that this designation suggests investigators may have been awaiting court approval for search warrants or other legal action.

Another law enforcement source said it likely meant an arrest of someone associated with the case had been made. CBS News could not confirm that because the names of other targets were redacted from the document.

24.02.2026 - 08:37 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Chaos und Gewalt nach Tod von Drogenboss in Mexiko

El Mencho war am Sonntag bei einem Einsatz mexikanischer Soldaten gefasst worden und erlag kurz darauf seinen Verletzungen. Er war der meistgesuchte Verbrecher des Landes, die USA hatten auf ihn eine Belohnung von 15 Millionen Dollar ausgesetzt. Das von ihm gegründete Kartell gehört zu den mächtigsten und brutalsten Mexikos. Zehntausende Menschen hat es getötet oder verschwinden lassen. Es verfügt über moderne Waffen wie gepanzerte Fahrzeuge oder Raketenwerfer.

24.02.2026 - 08:24 [ Texas Public Radio ]

A day after the Mexican military killed a drug lord, security forces keep up fight with cartel

Meanwhile, heavily armed Mexican security forces kept up their battle with cartel gunmen following the killing that sparked a surge in violence and put the country on edge. Cartel fighters continued to block roads as smoke rose on the outskirts of the town in the state of Jalisco.

More than 70 people died in the attempt to capture Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes and the aftermath, authorities said Monday. Known as „El Mencho,“ he was the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico.

24.02.2026 - 08:16 [ Texas Public Radio ]

Mexico weighs its options as Trump’s intervention rhetoric escalates

(January 14, 2026)

President Claudia Sheinbaum is facing mounting pressure as U.S. President Donald Trump escalates rhetoric about striking Mexican drug cartels, following Washington’s military action in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro.

Trump’s comments — including a Fox News interview in which he said the United States would begin “hitting land” against cartels — have sharpened concerns in Mexico.

03.01.2026 - 17:58 [ CBS News ]

U.S. lawmakers react after Trump announces Venezuela operation, Maduro arrest

Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Saturday morning that Maduro and his wife have been indicted in the Southern District of New York on narco-terrorism charges.

It was not immediately clear whether the nation‘s top lawyer was referring only to charges contained in an indictment filed against the Venezuelan leader in 2020, or if there would be new or different charges filed in an indictment Saturday.

20.12.2025 - 09:05 [ Drop Site News ]

Epstein, Israel, and the CIA: How the Iran-Contra Planes Landed at Les Wexner‘s Base

Stanley Pottinger, as it happens, was a notable figure in the scandal that became known as Iran-Contra, in which the CIA used Israel as a middleman to move off-the-books weapons to Iran. In the early 1980s, under the CIA’s supervision, Pottinger advised an Iranian banker on shipping embargoed arms to Iran using fraudulent paperwork and overseas “dummy companies”—in the very same period that Pottinger and Epstein worked together selling “tax-avoidance” strategies from a penthouse by Central Park. Pottinger’s system eventually gave rise to a network of covert intermediaries shipping arms around the world; the CIA’s profits became a slush fund used to illegally bankroll the insurgent Contra army, who waged a war against Nicaragua’s leftist government while simultaneously trafficking cocaine to the United States.

(…)

Pottinger escaped prosecution after the FBI’s incriminating tapes of his conversations mysteriously disappeared; he went on to make a fortune on real estate deals in the 1980s, and became a New York Times’ bestselling novelist. His Times obit from last year reports that his final spy thriller remains unpublished. Hashemi died in 1986 after being infected with “a rare and virulent form of leukemia” that was diagnosed only two days before he died. (His death was later alleged to be foul play.)

18.12.2025 - 04:15 [ United States Representative Gregory Meeks ]

House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Meeks‘ Floor Debate Remarks on War Powers Resolution to Prohibit Hostilities Against Venezuela

„As I said earlier today on this floor, during the debate on my War Powers Resolution to end this administration’s extrajudicial strikes on boats in the Western Hemisphere, those bombings are not about drugs. If the administration did want to stop drugs, Trump would not have pardoned the former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, or Ross Ulbricht, who operated the Silk Road drug marketplace. He wouldn’t be seizing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Or threatening CIA operations, blockades, and ground strikes on Venezuela.

„It’s not about drugs, it’s about regime change, and it’s about oil. That’s not just me saying that. It’s Trump himself saying it. It’s President Trump’s Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, who said Trump wants to, and I quote, “keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.” And it relies on the magical thinking that military force can bring democracy in Venezuela or anywhere else.

„But his chief of staff also conceded, as any reasonable person with any knowledge of the constitution should, that if Trump, quote, “were to authorize some activity on land, then it’s war, then [we’d need] Congress.”

„On that, she’s right. Congress would need to pass an Authorization for the Use of Military Force if Trump wanted to put boots on the ground or conduct military strikes on Venezuela. And for that, Republicans in Congress would need to cast their vote on whether to commit U.S. armed forces to an open-ended conflict their constituents certainly do not want.

„Trump ran on ending forever wars, but now he’s forgotten what they are. What his own Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth characterized as, quote, “interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, and feckless nation building.” Yet with Venezuela, Trump is provoking a new war right in our backyard and threatening to destabilize an entire region.

01.12.2025 - 07:59 [ New York Times ]

The Ex-President Whom Trump Plans to Pardon Flooded America With Cocaine

(November 29, 2025)

The president’s two-week trial in Manhattan, and those of his associates before it, offered a glimpse into a world of corruption and drug running spanning several countries. Bags of cash, a machine gun with Mr. Hernández’s name emblazoned on it, and bribes from the drug lord Joaquín Guzmán, the Mexican kingpin known as El Chapo, featured heavily.

Prosecutors said Mr. Hernández was key to a scheme that lasted more than 20 years and brought more than 500 tons of cocaine into the United States.

25.10.2025 - 22:44 [ UltimasNoticias.com.ve ]

Maduro: The US narrative about Venezuela is vulgar, extravagant, and false.

In this regard, he recalled that since Venezuela broke relations with the DEA, the country has been able to advance autonomously and sovereignly in its strategy. „And today Venezuela is a country completely free of drug trafficking and all those things.“

He insisted that the Americans are inventing a new eternal war. „They promised they would never get involved in another war, and they‘re inventing a war that we‘re going to avoid. With what? With the mobilization of the people of South America, because South America and the Caribbean, everything, says no to war, yes to peace, yes to prosperity, yes to harmony and coexistence,“ were the words of the president, referring to the siege the country is under.

03.09.2025 - 15:42 [ Washington Post ]

U.S. kills 11 in strike on alleged drug vessel from Venezuela, Trump says

In a secret assessment in April, U.S. intelligence agencies said that Maduro’s government “probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States.” Rather, the assessment said, the Venezuelan regime, while sometimes tolerating the gang’s activities inside Venezuela, largely views it as a potential security threat.

The assessment contradicted Trump’s claim that Maduro controls the group, a rationale he used in invoking the Alien Enemies Act as justification to deport alleged gang members without due process.

16.07.2025 - 11:12 [ Times of Israel ]

Sources confirm Israel arming Gazan gang to bolster opposition to Hamas

(June 5, 2025)

Abu Shabab claims to be securing humanitarian aid convoys entering Gaza, while some have accused his gang of looting them.

The arming of Abu Shabab was carried out without the approval of Israel’s security cabinet. It was led by Israeli security bodies, and was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to defense sources.

28.06.2025 - 13:16 [ NewIndianExpress.com ]

Israel allegedly drugs flour bags distributed as aid to Palestinians; at least 62 killed today in Gaza

(June 27, 2025)

„We have so far documented four testimonies from citizens who found these pills inside flour bags. More serious is the possibility that some of these narcotic substances were deliberately ground or dissolved in the flour itself, which raises the scope of the crime and transforms it into a serious attack directly targeting public health,“ said the statement published by the Media Office on Telegram.

“We hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible for this heinous crime of spreading addiction and destroying the Palestinian social fabric from within, as part of a systematic policy that constitutes an extension of the genocide it is waging against our Palestinian people,” it added.

28.06.2025 - 13:16 [ TRT.global ]

Israel smuggles synthetic opioids into Gaza via flour aid

Reports from Dr Khalil Mazen Abu Nada and Pharmacist Omar Hamad in Gaza reveled that oxycodone was found hidden in aid and flour was sometimes laced with the drug.

The opioid is used for severe pain in cancer patients, or after surgeries. It is highly addictive and can lead to serious health risks.

07.06.2025 - 12:49 [ NewArab.com ]

Who are the ‘ISIS-linked, aid-stealing’ Gaza militia supported by Israel?

Haaretz also reported that Lieberman directly linked the group to IS, saying: „The Hamasha clan are in essence lawless criminals who in recent years wanted to give themselves an ideological angle or spin, so they became Salafi [jihadists] and began identifying with ISIS.“

Though the group now brands itself as an „anti-terror“ force, locals see little distinction between their behaviour and that of organised crime syndicates. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed also reported that the group rebranded from the Anti-Terrorism Unit to The Popular Forces in May 2025 – possibly to obscure its affiliations.

17.03.2025 - 19:33 [ CNN ]

Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s ability to quickly deport noncitizens under Alien Enemies Act

(March 15, 2025)

Earlier Saturday, the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which gives the president tremendous authority to target and remove undocumented immigrants, to speed up the deportations of migrants. The law is designed to be invoked if the US is at war with another country, or a foreign nation has invaded the US or threatened to do so.

21.01.2025 - 18:27 [ White House ]

Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists

(b) Within 14 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take all appropriate action, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to make operational preparations regarding the implementation of any decision I make to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, 50 U.S.C. 21 et seq., in relation to the existence of any qualifying invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States by a qualifying actor, and to prepare such facilities as necessary to expedite the removal of those who may be designated under this order.

20.01.2025 - 21:04 [ ABC News ]

What to know about Trump‘s immigration and border executive actions

The incoming administration will sign an executive order to designate drug cartels and other criminal organizations, including the U.S.-El Salvadoran-based MS-13 and Venezuela‘s Tren de Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations or specifically designated global terrorists (SDGT).

An incoming White House official said Monday that the order will direct authorities to specifically remove members of Tren de Agua from the United States. And, citing the Alien Enemies Act enacted more than two centuries ago, the official said Tren de Agua has become an „irregular armed force of Venezuela‘s government conducting a predatory incursion and invasion into the United States.“

20.01.2025 - 20:06 [ cnbctv18.com ]

Trump declares war on illegal immigrants, cartels from Mexico

Trump also declared that he will sign a Day 1 executive order designating cartels foreign terrorist organisations, allowing the government to take deadly measures against them.

„Under the orders I signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organisations. And by invoking the alien enemies act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to us, soil, including our cities and inner cities,“ Trump said.

21.08.2023 - 08:14 [ CNN ]

Ecuador election heads to run-off vote, with González to face surprise second-place Noboa

Days after Villavicencio’s murder, a left-wing local party official, Pedro Briones, was shot dead in Esmeraldas province.

Gunfire interrupted Noboa’s caravan on Thursday as he was traveling in Guayas province, but authorities say the presidential candidate was not the target of the incident.

21.08.2023 - 07:35 [ Amerika21.de ]

Präsident von Kolumbien wird Freihandelsabkommen mit den USA neu verhandeln

Petro bedauerte, dass sich die Wirtschaft heute auf den Export von Erdöl, Kohle und Kokain stütze und nicht mehr wie früher auf Kaffee. Während der Kaffeeexport im letzten Jahrhundert rund eine Million Arbeitsplätze geschaffen habe, seien es heute in der Erdölproduktion nur 150.000.

Für mehr Wohlstand im Land sei es daher wichtig, die Landwirtschaft anzukurbeln, indem die Kleinbäuer:innen Lebensmittel produzieren, die das Land heute importiert. Als Beispiel nannte er Mais. Obwohl dieses Getreide ursprünglich aus Kolumbien stamme, werde es heute vor allem aus den USA und Kanada importiert.

27.05.2023 - 14:25 [ Amerika21.de ]

USA bereiten Entsendung von Militär in das Grenzgebiet von Panama und Kolumbien vor

(27.05.2023)

Als eine wahrscheinliche Option gilt inzwischen die Verlegung einer kleinen Anzahl von US-Truppen, die sich bereits in Kolumbien und Panama aufhalten, in den Darién-Streifen, um die einheimischen Streitkräfte zu beraten. In der Biden-Administration soll jedoch auch diskutiert werden, die Präsenz weiter auszubauen.

04.05.2023 - 10:20 [ Netzpolitik.org ]

Cooper Davis Act: US-Senat nimmt Drogen-Chats ins Visier

Anbieter können in ihrem Bericht an die DEA nach eigenem Ermessen entscheiden, welche Informationen sie weitergeben. Gleichzeitig enthält der Gesetzentwurf aber auch eine Liste mit Informationen, die einem solchen Bericht beiliegen sollten. Dazu gehören etwa Mail- und IP-Adressen, Zahlungsinformationen, der geographische Standort sowie ein kompletter Auszug der betreffenden Inhalte. Diese Informationen kann die DEA dann auch an andere Strafverfolgungsbehörden weiterleiten.

Die Daten sollen nicht nur weitergegeben, sondern auch vom Provider an einem „sicheren Ort“ für 90 Tage nach Einreichung bei der DEA gespeichert werden. Im Gesetzentwurf ist jedoch auch vermerkt, dass die DEA eine Verlängerung der Speicherung beantragen kann, wenn sie beabsichtigt, gegen Nutzer*innen zu ermitteln oder die Daten an andere Behörden weiterzuleiten.

Nutzer*innen wissen derweil nichts von der Weiterleitung ihrer Daten.

04.05.2023 - 10:10 [ Techdirt.com ]

Cooper Davis Act: Another Attempt By Congress To Regulate That Which They Don’t Understand

In many ways, this is similar to the CyberTipline for CSAM that requires websites to report details if they come across child sexual abuse material. But, CSAM is strict liability content for which there is no 1st Amendment protection. Demanding that anything even remotely referencing an illegal drug transaction be sent to the DEA will sweep up a ton of perfectly protected speech.

Worse, it will lead to massive overreporting of useless leads. I’ve mentioned just recently that we get a ton of attempted spam comments here at Techdirt, over a million in just the last six months alone. A decent percentage of these appear to be pushing what are likely to be illegal drugs. Now, we catch the vast majority of these in the spam filter, and they never reach the site. And, I don’t think a mere spam comment alone would reach the level of knowledge necessary to trigger this law, but the point is that there’s potential that our lawyers would warn us that to protect ourselves from potentially ruinous liability for failing to report these spam messages to the DEA, they’d recommend we basically flood the DEA with a bunch of the spam messages we received just to avoid the risk of liability.

18.06.2022 - 19:41 [ ORF.at ]

Mord im Amazonas: Leiche identifiziert, aber viele Fragen offen

Sie hätten die Behörden mehrfach über die Aktivitäten von kriminellen Gruppen in der Region aufmerksam gemacht, teilte der Indigenen-Verband APIB mit. „Die Grausamkeit des Verbrechens zeigt, dass Pereira und Phillips einer mächtigen Verbrecherorganisation in den Weg gekommen sind, die ihre Spuren um jeden Preis verwischen wollte“, hieß es in einer Stellungnahme von APIB.

16.06.2022 - 11:31 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Police hunting in the Amazon for the bodies of British journalist Dom Phillips and his local guide dig up human remains after being led to site by suspect who ‚confessed to killing, dismembering and burying the pair‘

Brazil‘s president Jair Bolsonaro announced on Monday that human remains had been found in the search, saying ‚something wicked‘ had been done to them.

‚The indications are that something wicked was done to them,‘ Bolsonaro said, claiming that ‚human innards were found floating in the river, which are now undergoing DNA testing.‘

(..)

The two men were on a reporting trip in the remote jungle area near the border with Peru and Colombia that is home to the world‘s largest number of uncontacted indigenous people.

The wild and lawless region has lured cocaine-smuggling gangs, along with illegal loggers, miners and hunters.