MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica - Jamaica has long bemoaned its reputation as the land of ganja. It has enforced draconian drug laws and spent millions on public education to stem its distinction as a pot mecca. But its role as a major supplier of illicit marijuana to the United States and its international image - led by the likes of Bob Marley, whose Rastafarian faith considers smoking up a religious act - have been too strong to overcome. Now, its leaders smell something else: opportunity. [continues 1343 words]
MEXICO CITY - The drug that killed Prince has become a favorite of Mexican cartels because it is extremely potent, popular in the United States - and immensely profitable, American officials say. Law enforcement and border authorities in the United States warn that Mexican cartels are using their own labs to produce the drug, fentanyl, as well as receiving shipments from China. Then the cartels distribute the substance through their vast smuggling networks to meet rising American demand for opiates and pharmaceuticals. "It is really the next migration of the cartels in terms of making profit," said Jack Riley, acting deputy administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. "This goes to the heart of the marketing genius of the cartels. They saw this coming." [continues 1293 words]
MEXICO CITY - In the history of modern war, fighters are much more likely to injure their enemies than kill them. But in Mexico, the opposite is true. According to the government's own figures, Mexico's armed forces are exceptionally efficient killers - stacking up bodies at extraordinary rates. The Mexican authorities say the nation's soldiers are simply better trained and more skilled than the cartels they battle. But experts who study the issue say Mexico's kill rate is practically unheard-of, arguing that the numbers reveal something more ominous. [continues 1414 words]
MEXICO CITY - In the history of modern war, fighters are much more likely to injure their enemies than kill them. But in Mexico, the opposite is true. According to the government's own figures, Mexico's armed forces are exceptionally efficient killers - stacking up bodies at extraordinary rates. Mexican authorities say the nation's soldiers are simply better trained and more skilled than the cartels they battle. But experts who study the issue say Mexico's kill rate is practically unheard-of, arguing that the numbers reveal something more ominous. [continues 744 words]
ZARANJ, Afghanistan - Shortly after sunrise, an Afghan special operations helicopter descended on two vehicles racing through the empty deserts of southern Afghanistan, traversing what has become a superhighway for smugglers and insurgents. Intelligence showed that the men were transporting a huge cache of drugs and weapons from Helmand Province to Nimruz Province, a hub for all things illegal and a way station on the global opium trail. Hovering above, the troops fired tracer rounds into the sandy earth beside the vehicles, which skidded to a stop. [continues 1375 words]
MORELIA, Mexico - Pope Francis delivered his most searing indictment of the Mexican underworld Tuesday, encouraging the nation's youth to value themselves and resist the temptation to join forces with "criminal organizations that sow terror." Since his arrival Friday, Francis has made no secret of his desire to challenge the drug syndicates that have corroded Mexican life for decades. He commanded bishops to be more proactive in facing down the scourge of narcotics and denounced gangs as dealers of death. On Tuesday, in the cartel bastion of Michoacan, he mounted his most full-throated assault, imploring young people not to lose faith and become the "mercenaries of other people's ambitions." [continues 900 words]
GARMSIR, Afghanistan - The United States spent more than $7 billion in the past 14 years to fight the runaway poppy production that has made Afghan opium the world's biggest brand. Tens of billions more went to governance programs to stem corruption and train a credible police force. Countless more dollars and thousands of lives were lost on the main thrust of the war: to put the Afghan government in charge of district centers and to instill rule of law. But here in one of the few corners of Helmand Province that is peaceful and in firm government control, the green stalks and swollen bulbs of opium were growing thick and high within eyeshot of official buildings during the past poppy season - signs of a local narco-state administered directly by government officials. [continues 1896 words]
GARMSIR, Afghanistan - The United States spent more than $7 billion in the past 14 years to fight the runaway poppy production that has made Afghan opium the world's biggest brand. Tens of billions more went to governance programs to stem corruption and train a credible police force. Countless more dollars and thousands of lives were lost on the main thrust of the war: to put the Afghan government in charge of district centers and to instill rule of law. But here in one of the only corners of Helmand province that are peaceful and in firm government control, the green stalks and swollen bulbs of opium were growing thick and high within view of official buildings during the past poppy season - signs of a local narco-state administered directly by government officials. [continues 350 words]
Poppy Production Booms As American Appetite for Opioids Grows With her nimble hands, tiny feet and low center of gravity, Angelica Guerrero Ortega makes an excellent opium harvester. Deployed along the Sierra Madre del Sur, where a record poppy crop covers the mountainsides in strokes of green, pink and purple, she navigates the inclines with the deftness of a ballerina. Though shy, she perks up when describing her craft: the delicate slits to the bulb, the patient scraping of the gum, earning in one day more than her parents do in a week. [continues 1616 words]
EL CALVARIO, Mexico - With her nimble hands, tiny feet and low center of gravity, Angelica Guerrero Ortega makes an excellent opium harvester. Deployed along the Sierra Madre del Sur, where a record poppy crop covers the mountainsides in strokes of green, pink and purple, she navigates the inclines with the deftness of a ballerina. Though shy, she perks up when describing her craft: the delicate slits to the bulb, the patient scraping of the gum, earning in one day more than her parents do in a week. [continues 1630 words]
CALVARIO, MEXICO - With her nimble hands, tiny feet and low center of gravity, Angelica Guerrero Ortega makes an excellent opium harvester. Deployed along the Sierra Madre del Sur, where a record poppy crop covers the mountainsides in strokes of green, pink and purple, she navigates the inclines with the deftness of a ballerina. Though shy, she perks up when describing her craft: the delicate slits to the bulb, the patient scraping of the gum, earning in one day more than her parents do in a week. [continues 582 words]
Shortly before 9 p.m. on Saturday, Joaquin Guzman Loera, the Mexican drug kingpin whose capture last year had been trumpeted by his country's government as a crucial victory in its bloody campaign against the narcotics trade, stepped into the shower in his cell in the most secure wing of the most secure prison in Mexico. He never came out. When guards later entered the cell, they discovered a 2-by-2-foot hole, through which Mr. Guzman, known as El Chapo, or Shorty, had disappeared. [continues 1295 words]
Bruce McFall descended the stairs of his South Pullman home just before sunrise. He stepped out into a slight drizzle and walked down his quiet block to 123rd Street, then east to Halsted Street to catch the first of two buses that would carry him to school. The 17-year-old passes drug houses, vacant lots and abandoned homes where rotted plywood covers windows and doors. One street, 123rd, is the dividing line between two gangs. The risks barely register. "I don't think too much about it," said McFall, a Corliss High School junior who stands about 6 feet 2 inches tall. "Because who's gonna change it?" [continues 330 words]
