Opinion - The Greek syndrome may develop on Bulgarian soil, unless significant spending cuts are introduced - Standart

Opinion - The Greek syndrome may develop on Bulgarian soil, unless significant spending cuts are introduced - Standart

Another mystery flight as Dominican airports become drug hubs - DominicanToday.com

Another mystery flight as Dominican airports become drug hubs - DominicanToday.com:

Santo Domingo. - A small plane that took off from Puerto Plata International Airport (north) with a flight plan towards Venezuela, and which suddenly disappeared from radars, was found in Honduras after transporting as much as 2,000 kilos of cocaine, according to estimates of that country’s antinarcotics authorities.

The finding is the latest in a spate of flights by small planes whose crews are using Dominican Republic as a sort of international operating center of drug transport.

Drug Lord Christopher Coke's Extradition Throws Jamaica into Crisis - By Ilan Greenberg | Foreign Policy

Drug Lord Christopher Coke's Extradition Throws Jamaica into Crisis - By Ilan Greenberg | Foreign Policy:

U.S. demands for the extradition of a notorious gang leader have exposed an island paradise as a violent narcostate teetering on the edge of chaos.

Jamaica bleeds for our 'war on drugs' | Ben Bowling | Comment is free | The Guardian

Jamaica bleeds for our 'war on drugs' | Ben Bowling | Comment is free | The Guardian:

There is a wider challenge facing the region and the international community. The 'war on drugs' has not only failed, but positively promotes corruption and armed violence – not only in the Caribbean, but also across Central and South America, West Africa and in the inner cities of Europe and North America.

Bulgaria: Today's Quote - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency

Bulgaria: Today's Quote - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency:

“I have always said that the organized crime in Bulgaria resembles the dormant cells of Al-Qaeda. There are coordinating units, but when they commit four or five crimes these people get to know their whereabouts and start to work independently.”

Top Caribbean police officials confer on crime-fighting strategy - News - Virgin Islands Daily News

Top Caribbean police officials confer on crime-fighting strategy - News - Virgin Islands Daily News:

“Crime has invaded the Caribbean region like a cancerous growth,” Mills said, adding that the Caribbean is “caught in the crossfire” of drug-producing countries in central and South America and the drug-consuming U.S. and Canada.

BALKANS: Serb Mercenaries See Prospects in Latin America - IPS ipsnews.net

BALKANS: Serb Mercenaries See Prospects in Latin America - IPS ipsnews.net:

The unusual fatal incident in a distant country drew the attention of the broader public to murky 'protection and safety agencies', established mostly by veterans of the wars of the 1990s.

Most of their members sell their skills as bodyguards or provide armed protection both at home and abroad, with activities often bordering or even linked to organised crime as the two were intermingled in the 1990s, particularly in Serbia.

Engagements abroad, said to bring in thousands of dollars in monthly wages, may range from protection of oil fields in Iraq to those involved in the drug business in Latin America.

It was discovered only recently that Latin America is a haven for many Serbian criminals who are engaged in the illegal drugs trade or who are fugitives from the law.

Anti-drug measures spark Bogota prison riot

Anti-drug measures spark Bogota prison riot:

Three prisoners died and another 25 were injured during a riot at Bogota's La Modelo prison, sparked by protests over the transfer of an inmate in a bid to control micro drug trafficking within the jail.

Former Fugitive Is the Real Power in Guinea-Bissau - NYTimes.com

Former Fugitive Is the Real Power in Guinea-Bissau - NYTimes.com:

“Bubo Na Tchuto is actually the force behind the forces,” said Dr. Abdel Fatau Musah, the political director for the Economic Community of West African States, a regional bloc of nations. “The fact that he is controlling things is very unpleasant for the region.”

In the eyes of the American government, Mr. Na Tchuto is a trafficking mastermind in a country that has become a global narcotics hub: the point man, for instance, when hundreds of pounds of cocaine were unloaded from a plane at the minuscule local airport two years ago.

America's Chernobyl

Many people assert that the Gulf Oil disaster is Obama's Katrina.

They are wrong.

It is America's Chernobyl.

Situation in Bosnia Deteriorating, Top International Envoy Says :: BalkanInsight.com

Situation in Bosnia Deteriorating, Top International Envoy Says :: BalkanInsight.com

DRSol :: News Archive :: Overwhelmed by drug trafficking

DRSol :: News Archive :: Overwhelmed by drug trafficking:

President Fernandez said that DR is 'overwhelmed' by drug trafficking and crime....

Jamaica gangsters attack police to defend drug lord wanted in US - CSMonitor.com

Jamaica gangsters attack police to defend drug lord wanted in US - CSMonitor.com:

Could it be that at an operational level, the police High Command is so lacking in vision and proactive capacity that it did not rehearse and plan for the events of last week? Or is it that the much-pronounced operational independence of the police is no more than a poorly-constructed mirage.

Stabroek News - Eight cops shot in Jamaica, two killed

Stabroek News - Eight cops shot in Jamaica, two killed

afrol News - Guinea-Bissau power struggle building up

afrol News - Guinea-Bissau power struggle building up:

Conspiracy theories are widely spread in the West African region and should seldom be listened to. But with growing international evidence that Guinea-Bissau is turning into a drug marketplace, the rumour about drug capital being behind the plan to get rid off Prime Minister Gomes cannot be ruled out.

Coast Guard bares new modus operandi of foreign pirates

Coast Guard bares new modus operandi of foreign pirates :

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Monday disclosed a new modus operandi of pirates which involves seizing vessels plying international routes before selling these as renamed ships to unsuspecting buyers.

Jamaica Declares Emergency Amid Unrest in Kingston - NYTimes.com

Jamaica Declares Emergency Amid Unrest in Kingston - NYTimes.com:

The Jamaican government declared a state of emergency in portions of Kingston, the capital, on Sunday after supporters of a gang leader who is wanted in the United States on gun and drug charges attacked three police stations in an attempt to pressure the government to let him remain free, officials said.

Paraguay's growing drug trafficking threat

Highway robbery a growth industry in Mexico

Highway robbery a growth industry in Mexico:

Criminal gangs along the highways and rail lines increasingly are working in league with powerful narcotics cartels that are diversifying into other types of crime, experts said.

Jamaicans Wary as Police Seek to Arrest Christopher "Dudus" Coke

Jamaicans Wary as Police Seek to Arrest Christopher "Dudus" Coke, :

When I was in Kingston, I noted that almost every house was surrounded by thick cement walls topped with ironwork spikes clearly designed to prevent unwanted access. With the addition of sandbag barricades and concertina wire as shown in these police photos published by the Jamaica Observer, any police incursion necessitating going from house to house in that section of Kingston would be quite difficult. The Tivoli Gardens neighborhood has been involved in several violent confrontations with police over the years. The Jamaica Gleaner notes that notorious shoot-outs with police have occurred there in 2008, 2005, 2001, and 1997. The 2001 incident left 27 dead. After the 2005 incident, the head of the Jamaican Defense Force called Tivoli Gardens, 'the mother of all garrisons.'