drug war

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent searches an automobile for contraband in the line to enter the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in October 2019 in San Ysidro, Calif.

Politicians say they'll stop fentanyl smugglers. Experts say new drug war won't work

7:56am February 21, 2023

by Brian Mann

As fentanyl deaths soar, political pressure is growing to stop Mexican cartels that smuggle the drug. Experts on drug trafficking say trying to lock down the Mexican border is an impossible goal.

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During the War on Drugs, the Brownsville neighborhood in New York City saw some of the highest rates of incarceration in the U.S., as Black and Hispanic men were sent to prison for lengthy prison sentences, often for low-level, nonviolent drug crimes.

National

After 50 Years Of The War On Drugs, 'What Good Is It Doing For Us?'

11:37am June 17, 2021

by Brian Mann

President Nixon called for an "all-out offensive" against drugs and addiction. The U.S. is now rethinking policies that led to mass incarceration and shattered families while drug deaths kept rising.

Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, left, and former Mexican Defense Secretary Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda at the Pentagon in 2017. A U.S. district judge dropped drug charges against Cienfuegos Wednesday.

World News

At U.S. Request, Judge Dismisses Drug Charges Against Mexico's Ex-Defense Secretary

3:30pm November 18, 2020

by Carrie Kahn

Salvador Cienfuego Zepeda was arrested last month at Los Angeles International Airport. He is now free to return home to Mexico though his prosecution there is far from certain.

Genaro Garcia Luna delivers a speech in 2012 to mark the expansion of a federal prison. He served as Secretary of Public Security from 2006 to 2012.

Former Top Mexican Security Official Arrested On Cocaine Trafficking Charges

4:14pm December 10, 2019

by Sam Gringlas

In exchange for millions of dollars in bribes, Genaro Garcia Luna, formerly in charge of all the country's federal police, allegedly allowed the Sinaloa Cartel to operate with impunity.

Retired Roman Catholic Bishop Nicanor Yniguez (left) joins families of victims of alleged extra-judicial killings in President Rodrigo Duterte's "war on drugs."

World News

U.N. Human Rights Council To Investigate Abuses In Philippines' Antidrug War

6:10pm July 11, 2019

by Shannon Van Sant

Human rights activists say as many as 27,000 people have died in the Philippine government's antidrug campaign.

Catholic nuns participate in a healing protest in Manila in 2017, as Catholic bishops called for an end to killings in President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war.

Philippine Clergy Reports Death Threats As President Duterte Rails Against Church

3:37pm April 03, 2019

by Julie McCarthy

Catholic Church officials who have criticized the Philippine president's deadly drug war say they are receiving threats and government surveillance.

A farmer shows cocaine base paste, made from coca leaves in Colombia's Guaviare department in 2017.

World News

Colombia Is Growing Record Amounts Of Coca, The Key Ingredient In Cocaine

4:31pm November 05, 2018

by John Otis

The country's rising cocaine production has alarmed Washington, which has spent more than $10 billion over nearly two decades to attack the illegal drug trade in Colombia.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a statement in Manila in Nov. 2017. Duterte will withdraw the Philippines from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to a statement released to reporte

World News

Duterte Pulls Philippines Out Of International Criminal Court

3:18pm March 14, 2018

by Emily Sullivan

The move comes after the ICC opened an investigation into Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs. Withdrawing does not keep the country from facing charges of human rights abuse.

Line workers sort freshly cut avocados at Frutas Finas packing plant in Tancitaro. Forty-five percent of the world's avocados come from Mexico. Eighty percent of avocados consumed in the U.S. come from Mexico, the majority from the small mountain town of

World News

Blood Avocados No More: Mexican Farm Town Says It's Kicked Out Cartels

10:17am February 02, 2018

by Carrie Kahn

Americans will mash up and scarf down millions of the fruits in one day — Super Bowl Sunday. According to authorities in Mexico, at least one town grows what you might call "conflict-free avocados."

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Activists protest at the headquarters of the Philippine National Police, condemning the government's war on drugs and holding placards showing murdered South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo. The South Korean businessman was allegedly kidnapped by Philippin

World News

A Foreign Businessman's Murder Pauses Philippine Drug War, But For How Long?

4:31pm March 01, 2017

by Michael Sullivan

President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs has led to 7,500 deaths. But after a Korean businessman was killed, Duterte ordered the national police to stand down from their leading role in the drug war.