Drug trafficking

Mexican authorities captured a nephew of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in a security operation near the U.S. border, delivering another high-profile blow to the Sinaloa Cartel and its powerful Los Chapitos faction.

South African police have uncovered three Mexican-linked industrial methamphetamine labs since mid-2024, a string of raids that authorities and organized crime experts say points to a major shift in the global drug trade: cartels are no longer just moving drugs through Africa. They are increasingly producing them there.

Federal prosecutors say the case is connected to a broader investigation into Colombian cocaine shipments routed through The Bahamas and into South Florida using corrupt officials

The review will examine the intelligence and targeting process used in the strikes, including how targets were selected and approved

After months of friction over the presence of U.S. intelligence personnel on Mexican soil, President Claudia Sheinbaum and the CIA found themselves on the same side of an explosive fight: both rejected a CNN report alleging that U.S. operatives had taken part in deadly covert operations against cartel targets inside Mexico.

A new front of narco violence is tearing through Mexico's southern state of Guerrero, where a long-running war between the criminal groups known as Los Tlacos and Los Ardillos has escalated into attacks on rural communities, forced displacement and a new federal security deployment.

The latest strike occurred Monday, when U.S. Southern Command said two people were killed after a vessel traveling along a "known narco-trafficking" route was hit in the Caribbean

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pushed back Thursday against U.S. allegations linking Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya and other Mexican officials to the Sinaloa Cartel, saying Mexico will not protect anyone who committed a crime but will not accept accusations without clear evidence.

Eugenio Darío Molina-López made his initial appearance in federal court on Friday, April 24, and entered a not guilty plea. A motion hearing and trial setting is scheduled for May 11 before U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw.

Mexican forces captured Audias Flores Silva, alias "Jardinero," one of the alleged top commanders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and a figure identified as a possible successor to Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho," after his death in a military operation earlier this year.

A major Mexican security operation in Sinaloa set off a wave of speculation that Aureliano Guzmán Loera, better known as 'El Guano' and identified as a brother of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, had been captured.

A gang born in Brazil's brutal prison system is no longer just a domestic security threat. The Primeiro Comando da Capital, or PCC, has evolved into a sprawling transnational criminal organization that prosecutors, U.S. officials and recent international reporting say is reshaping cocaine routes from South America to Europe and making troubling inroads into the United States.

A Washington Post exclusive has added a highly sensitive twist to the deadly crash in northern Mexico that killed two U.S. Embassy officials and two Mexican investigators. Citing two people familiar with the matter, the Post reported that the two Americans who died in Chihuahua were CIA officers.

The Trump administration has imposed visa restrictions on 75 individuals tied to the Sinaloa Cartel, expanding its campaign against transnational drug trafficking networks and signaling a broader strategy aimed not just at cartel leaders, but their inner circles.

The U.S. Southern Command said it carried out a "lethal kinetic strike" Sunday against a vessel in the Caribbean that it said was being used in narcotics trafficking, killing three men aboard in the latest escalation of Washington's military campaign against suspected drug-smuggling boats in the region.

Three people were killed in a U.S. strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Wednesday, marking the fifth deadly attack in as many days and underscoring the accelerating pace of a campaign that has drawn mounting legal scrutiny.

A Southern California family allegedly tied to Mexico's powerful Sinaloa Cartel is now in federal custody, as U.S. authorities ramp up pressure on the criminal organization's leadership with a $10 million reward for one of the two Chapitos still at large.

The recording features a Colombian and an Ecuadorian discussing a plan to block the extradition of drug traffickers in exchange for testimony against Petro before U.S. authorities

Colombian security experts are warning that the reported fall of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho," the leader of the powerful Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) may not weaken organized crime in Mexico as much as many expect.

The Ecuador operation is part of a wider strategy that has included air and maritime strikes against suspected drug-smuggling vessels that began in September

Prosecutors allege that Cilia Flores, the former Venezuelan first lady, built a family-run network that granted relatives control over drug routes, state contracts and key government positions.

President Donald Trump said the United States may bring additional legal cases against Nicolás Maduro, suggesting the charges he currently faces represent only part of his alleged conduct.

U.S. forces claimed earlier this month that they helped Ecuadorean forces target a camp used by a drug-trafficking organization to conduct its criminal enterprise, but a new investigation shows that the location was actually a dairy farm.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro rejected the U.S. investigations against him over potential ties with drug traffickers, saying he has never spoken to anyone involved in such activities in his life.

A retired Venezuelan general serving a prison sentence in the United States says interim leader Delcy Rodríguez and her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, consolidated power inside Venezuela years before the capture of Nicolás Maduro, acting as what he called "the true architects of the Venezuelan dictatorial regime."

The Trump administration has accused Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, the only biological son of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, of maintaining ties to Colombian armed groups involved in drug trafficking.

Venezuela's interim leader Delcy Rodríguez was labeled a "priority target" by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration years before rising to the top of the country's power structure, according to a new report.

Venezuela's captured authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro could be eligible for the death penalty if convicted of narco-terrorism charges in the U.S., the New York Post noted.

Venezuela's authoritarian President, Nicolás Maduro, said president Donald Trump is laying the groundwork for a "forever war" against the country.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he spoke "very recently" with Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, but indicated the conversation did little to ease tensions between the two countries.