Illicit Trade

Soldiers patrol at a poppy plantation used to make heroin during an operation of destruction at Sierra de Culiacan in state of Sinaloa, December 8, 2011. High above Mexico's drug-producing heartland, Mexican soldiers are combing the fertile fields of the northwestern state of Sinaloa in search of the billion-dollar poppy and marijuana farms that litter the region. In the operative the Mexican troops destroyed packed marijuana as well as bundles of the plant for processing, accounting for over 100 tonnes, according Army Commander General, Moises Melo. Picture taken December 8, 2011. REUTERS/Bernardo Montoya (MEXICO - Tags: DRUGS SOCIETY MILITARY)

The foreign policies of the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG – Part I: In the Americas

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Friday, July 22, 2022

A customs officer displays Captagon pills, part of the 789 kilograms (1739 pounds) of confiscated drugs, before its incineration in Sofia, 12, 2007. The drugs are worth around 68 million Levs (48 million dollars). REUTERS/Nikolay Doychinov (BULGARIA)

The battle against captagon

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Friday, May 27, 2022

A policeman stands guard at a police station where seven Sinaloa drug cartel members are being presented to the media after they were arrested with a an arsenal of heavy weapons in Mexico City February 13, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer (MEXICO)

How the Sinaloa Cartel rules

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Monday, April 4, 2022

China’s role in poaching and wildlife trafficking in Mexico

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

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Coast guards carry two specimens of smuggled hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) in Fangchenggang city, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, 28 June 2017.Guards seized 11 bags of crocodile skins and two specimens of hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) in Fangchenggang city, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, 28 June 2017. Crocodile skin is the upmarket of consumer goods because of its small quantities and luxurious quality. The smuggling of alligator skins is emerging as the high-end leather market flourishes.No Use China. No Use France.

China-linked wildlife poaching and trafficking in Mexico

March 2022

China’s role in the smuggling of synthetic drugs and precursors

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

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A chemical specialist in a protective suit shows pills seized at a clandestine drug processing laboratory of fentanyl located in the Azcapotzalco municipality, in Mexico City, Mexico, in this handout photograph released to Reuters by PGR - Attorney General's Office, December 12, 2018. PGR - Attorney General's Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY

China and synthetic drugs control: Fentanyl, methamphetamines, and precursors

Vanda Felbab-Brown

March 2022

Local women peel and clean freshly caught fish by family members at their home in Celestun.On Tuesday, February 22, 2022, in Celestun, Yucatan, Mexico. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto)NO USE FRANCE

The women guardians of Conchalito – Organized crime is taking over Mexican fisheries, part III

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Monday, March 21, 2022

Chinese nationals, who, according to Pakistan Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), are suspected members of a prostitution ring, taking young Pakistani women to China, are escorted by police and officials during their civil court appreance in Lahore, Pakistan May 11, 2019. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza

Bride trafficking along the China-Pakistan economic corridor

Madiha Afzal

March 2022

Smuggled Mexican box turtles were wrapped in duct tape, stuffed into socks and hidden in four coffee cans. Credit: USFWS

Something fishy: Wildlife trafficking from Mexico to China

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

A local fisherman carries nets as preparing his fishing boat on the beach of Celestun.On Tuesday, February 22, 2022, in Celestun, Yucatan, Mexico. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto)NO USE FRANCE

“How do we resist?” – Organized crime is taking over Mexican fisheries, part II

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Sunday, March 6, 2022

Chinese representatives watch a big screen while Jia Qinglin, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, speaks during the First Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing 3 March 2008.The annual meeting of the Consultancy Congress ( Upper House) started on March 3 and will end on March 14, 2008. It always preceeds the annual meeting of the National Peoples Congress, the parliament of China.No Use China. No Use France.

China’s illicit economies

Vanda Felbab-Brown, Madiha Afzal, and Jacob Schulz

The Lawfare Podcast

Monday, February 28, 2022

A container ship is docked in the port of Lazaro Cardenas November 21, 2013. When the leaders of Mexico and China met last summer, there was much talk of the need to deepen trade between their nations. Down on Mexico's Pacific coast, a drug gang was already making it a reality. The Knights Templar cartel, steadily diversifying into other businesses, became so successful at exporting iron ore to China that the Mexican Navy in November had to move in and take over the port in Lazaro Cardenas, a city that has become one of the gang's main cash generators. Picture taken November 21, 2013. To match Feature MEXICO-DRUGS/PORT REUTERS/Edgard Garrido (MEXICO - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW DRUGS SOCIETY BUSINESS MARITIME)

How is China involved in organized crime in Mexico?

Nathaniel Parish Flannery and Vanda Felbab-Brown

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

FIshing boat near the beach in Celestun. On Thursday, February 03, 2022, in Celestun, Yucatan, Mexico. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto)NO USE FRANCE

Organized crime is taking over Mexican fisheries

Vanda Felbab-Brown

February 21, 2022

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has welcomed the arrival of a critically endangered male Sumatran tiger at Edinburgh Zoo. Staff at the wildlife conservation charity say they hope the zoo’s current female tiger Dharma and the new arrival Lucu will breed in the future. Darren McGarry, head of living collections at RZSS, said, “We are very excited to welcome Lucu into our care and for visitors to meet him soon. “It will take a couple of days for him to settle in and explore his new home, and we will slowly begin introductions with Dharma in the months to come.” Four-year-old Lucu was born at Paignton Zoo, Devon, in 2016. Darren added, “Sumatran tigers are critically endangered in the wild and any cubs Lucu and Dharma raise would be a potentially important contribution to the future of the species, which is at risk of extinction due to extensive habitat loss and poaching.” Lucky visitors may be able to spot Lucu in his indoor area over the weekend at Edinburgh Zoo’s Tiger Tracks.Where: Edinburgh, Scotland, United KingdomWhen: 06 Nov 2020Credit: RZSS/Cover Images**Editorial use only**

Illegal trade in drugs and wildlife

Vanda Felbab-Brown and David Dollar

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

A soldier stands guard at an emptied swimming pool containing buckets at a clandestine drug processing laboratory discovered inside a ranch in Tlajomulco de Zuniga, on the outskirts of Guadalajara February 9, 2012. Soldiers found 15 tonnes of the synthetic drug Methamphetamine, according to local media. REUTERS/Alejandro Acosta (MEXICO - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST DRUGS SOCIETY)

The China connection in Mexico’s illegal economies

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Friday, February 4, 2022

A motorist passes by a wall with a graffiti of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in El Aguaje after the visit of Vatican's ambassador to Mexico Franco Coppola to the area and to the municipality of Aguililla, an area where the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and local drug gangs are fighting to control the territory, in Michoacan state, Mexico April 23, 2021. REUTERS/Alan Ortega

Nonstate armed actors in 2022: Alive and powerful in the new geopolitics

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

A fishing boat is seen from an aircraft of the Ecuadorian navy after a fishing fleet of mostly Chinese-flagged ships was detected in an international corridor that borders the Galapagos Islands' exclusive economic zone, in the Pacific Ocean August 7, 2020. Picture taken August 7, 2020. REUTERS/Santiago Arcos

An Indo-Pacific test case: Tackling illegal fishing with counternarcotics tactics

Jeremy Greenwood

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Biodiversity conservation, zoonotic diseases, and human security in Africa two years into COVID-19

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EST

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A State police convoy patrols a road in El Aguaje after a visit of Vatican's ambassador to Mexico Franco Coppola to the area and to the municipality of Aguililla, an area where the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and local drug gangs are fighting to control the territory, in Michoacan state, Mexico April 23, 2021. REUTERS/Alan Ortega

The nexus between the illicit narcotics trade and corruption

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Wednesday, November 17, 2021