Drugs & Narcotráfico

In a country with one of the highest rates of murder of journalists, content-creators and influencers are also becoming targets, especially if they criticise the bosses of organized crime.

In the run-up to Ecuador’s presidential elections on 13 April 2025, the two leading candidates, Daniel Noboa of the Acción Democrática Nacional (AND), and...

The discovery of a pile of shoes and a ditch containing human remains at a farm in Jalisco state suggests that this was an extermination camp operated by the drug cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación. The government of Claudi Sheinbaum is trying to evade responsibility, blaming the authorities in Jalisco and trumpeting its progress in reducing the murder rate. Meanwhile, disappearances have escalated.

LAB council member Elva Narcía Cancino reports from Chiapas, Mexico, where Zapatista indigenous women meet for a training day for Resistance and Rebellion -- against the background of rising levels of violence fueled by drug trafficking gangs and a government which has been ineffectual at best.

LAB caught up with Frente Amplio leader Fernando Pereira and his vice-president to find out how they propose to address the challenges the new government will face like the rise of the far-right, organised crime, and persistent poverty and marginalisation.

Increasing violence and instability are driving refugees and some Ecuadorians towards risky migration

Notably, deep-rooted inequalities and a weak state have allowed a destabilising narcotics economy to flourish across Latin America, argues Andrew Nickson Relying on the export of primary products has reinforced inequality

When large mining companies such as TerraEarth withdrew from gold mining in Ecuador's Napo province, they paved the way for smaller scale illegal miners to move in in force, financed by cocaine money, with terrible consequences

The latest report from Global Witness confirms the rising trend in killings of environmental defenders, with Mexico becoming the most dangerous country in a very dangerous region which now accounts for over 75% of lethal attacks in the world.

Peruvian coca farmers are actively recruiting Brazilian indigenous workers from the Alto Salimöes region to harvest and transport coca. Violence and exploitation are rife.