A report by the Washington-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) indicates strong concern with the increasing number of Chinese-operated ports in Latin America, fearing an increase in criminal networks and the trafficking of illicit goods and smuggling.
Three people have been arrested in Argentina in connection with the death of British pop musician Liam Payne. Prosecutors are charging them with various crimes, including the abandonment of a person followed by death, in addition to the supply and facilitation of narcotics.
Investigators in Buenos Aires believed VIP drug dealers for the rich and famous played a part in the death of pop music star Liam Payne in the Argentine capital this week. According to a post-mortem, the former One Direction singer fell from the balcony of a hotel in the Palermo district, which caused hemorrhages. Payne had been in Argentina since appearing at a concert by former bandmate Niall Horan on Oct. 2.
The discovery of cocaine and other hard drugs shipments to Europe from South American Atlantic ports is not new and despite all efforts, the network of contacts coupled with ingenious methods to adapt to circumstances and obviously a notorious degree of corruption, keeps information flowing.
A shipment of 22,320 units of Portezuelo brand budines and alfajores (La Plata river sweets), along with 1,122 bottles of vermouth, originating from Uruguay and bound for Belgium, was found to contain 2.16 tons of cocaine. The discovery was made by Belgian Customs on December 28, sparking an investigation into the oversight during its transit through the Uruguayan port.
A Brazilian-developed vaccine against cocaine addiction is almost ready for public distribution. The drug, named Calixcoca, “would block the effects on the brain,” according to the researchers behind the project.
The United States on Friday called on dozens of countries to work together to combat synthetic drugs, but China declined an invitation to attend.
Ecuadorian gangs linked to drug trafficking have been likened to terrorists by the administration of President Guillermo Lasso in a move to curb the escalating violence, it was reported. The decision was taken after a State and Public Security Council (Cosepe) meeting.
After a mafia-style attack on Thursday against a supermarket in Rosario owned by relatives of Lionel Messi's wife, many opposition leaders in Argentina suggested the Armed Forces be deployed against the drug-trafficking gangs operating in the country's third-largest city.
Argentina's Customs General Directorate created a department within its structure to monitor drug trafficking through the Uruguay River, it was announced Friday. The new task force will increase controls on regional transshipments where various containers featuring cocaine have been detected recently.