Torreon has recently seen an unprecedented increase in violence, especially mass shootings of people gathered in public places. In the past two years, over fifty people have been massacred in five separate shootings. Officials believe that members of the Sinaloa Cartel may be responsible for the deaths; members of this gang have recently been engaged in a dispute with the Zetas for control of Torreon.

While it may seem inconceivable that sick people, and the people that help them, could be the targets of such violence, those who are undergoing drug rehab are being singled out. The majority of incidents involve non-licensed rehab facilities. In Mexico, drug rehab facilities that have been approved by the government are associated with the criminal justice system and typically have their own security including perimeter alarms and panic buttons for the staff. Non-licensed centers do not, making the massacres fairly easy to pull off.

While officials were initially confused as to why licensed drug rehab facilities were being left alone, the reason is now clear and involves the type of patient likely to seek treatment at an unlicensed clinic. It turns out that the death squads are targeting places that are known to treat fellow gang members who are hoping to kick their own drug habits. The hits are often designed to silence someone who has become a police informant or avenge someone that the gang member killed.

However, these unlicensed drug rehabs may also not be as benevolent as they seem. In addition to treating members of the drug trade, some of these facilities are often fronts for drug dealing operations or are giving shelter to non-addicted gang members who need to hide out from their former comrades or enemies.

Mexico is at the forefront of both production and distribution of illegal drugs. Such an industry requires countless employees in order to get the job done. Like in all segments of society, however, a certain number of these drug soldiers will be pre-disposed to drug addiction. Once they start sampling the product, some will become addicted. Given how dangerous it is for a low-level worker to skim off the top of their boss’s earnings, a successful stint in drug rehab can be a matter of life and death.

Even more twisted, however, is the fact that gangs are now recruiting new members from the facilities. Drug lords have recognized how detrimental it can be to have drug addicted foot soldiers and have begun setting up their own drug rehab centers. For instance, Familia Michoacana runs a number of rehab facilities that are used to recruit and train new members. Once a young person enters the facility, he undergoes drug addiction treatment and is executed if he can’t comply. The bosses have found that former addicts who have gone through this type of training (and, thus, fear for their lives) are the best smugglers as they know what will happen if they skim off the top.
 

New 3-D scanning and enhanced CT scanning can help radiologists locate drugs and drug materials that have been ingested by perpetrators, assisting law enforcement agencies in stopping drug circulation. Additionally, the new technology could help reduce the injuries associated with ingesting drug packets by identifying the materials sooner in emergency rooms and other settings, according to research results included in a ScienceDaily report.

The enhanced CT scanning and associated 3-D scanning can help officials work around increasingly complex drug wrapping and ingesting methods that are making the materials hard to locate in traditional x-ray formats. Basic x-rays have been a part of searches for drugs or drug materials for years, especially in incarceration centers, but are hindered by inaccuracies. The CT scanning that now uses 3-D imaging provides almost total accuracy.

Patients with ingested drug packets can suffer almost immediate death if a packet spreads the substance into the body, which is typically smuggled as heroin or cocaine. Emergency room physicians will also be better equipped to save lives with the more advanced and more accurate imaging to spot drug packets before they leak or burst.

Findings from the study on CT scanning with 3-D imaging for drug smuggling were part of the presentations of the 2011 ARRS Annual Meeting.

Tiffany Hartley, age twenty-nine, claims that she and her husband were riding jet skis around the lake on the way back from Mexico when three gunmen in speedboats surprised them and shot her husband in the back of the head as the couple was attempting to ride away. David fell head first into the lake and, despite her best efforts, Tiffany was unable to retrieve him; she claims one of the gunmen was threatening her with a gun. Not knowing whether he was alive or dead, Tiffany opted to leave her husband behind in the lake and proceed on her jet ski to safety.

However, almost one week after the incident, law enforcement officials have been unable to find David’s body (despite the fact that he was allegedly wearing a life vest) and are now questioning the veracity of Tiffany’s story. The leader of Mexico’s State Police claims that there are no witnesses to corroborate Tiffany’s version of events – no witnesses have come forward to report hearing the sound of either jet skis or gunshots. More bizarre is the fact that David’s Jet Ski has yet to be found.

Since the spot on Lake Falcon where the incident is thought to have occurred is technically part of Mexico, the U.S. has no jurisdiction and has been relying on Mexican law enforcement to handle the investigation. The incident occurred about sixty miles from the Laredo, Texas border. The sheriff of Zapata County in Texas has contacted the Mexican consulate in the U.S. and requested that government officials conduct a search for David Hartley. The Sheriff has previously complained about Mexican drug gangs having gunfights with rivals on the lake.

Lake Falcon is actually a portion of the Rio Grande that has been dammed in order to provide drinking water to area residents. The border between the US and Mexico is delineated by 14 partially submerged pylons made from concrete; these concrete columns previously marked the edge of the Rio Grande.

David Hartley and his wife are from McAllen, Texas and had taken their jet skis to Mexico for some sightseeing. Tiffany claims that the incident occurred mid-afternoon, when they were on their way back to the U.S. Mr. Hartley’s parents have spoken out against Mexico’s handling of the case, claiming that government officials have not been investigating the matter at all. The Hartley’s flatly deny that their son’s wife could have been involved in any foul play with regard to their son.

This incident is not the first time Lake Falcon has been the focus of criminal investigation. Texas officials have long believed that the lake is vulnerable to pirate attacks and have previously warned fishermen to be wary of unknown boaters in the area. Earlier in 2010 there were reports of US fisherman being robbed at gunpoint by Mexican pirates on the Mexican part of the lake. In those incidents, the pirates were believed to have been using the type of low-profile commercial fishing boats that are typically used by Mexican fishermen in the area. However the prior incidents were, for the most part, violence free as the pirates simply demanded money, drugs and guns from the fishermen. It is unclear why the pirates decided to change their pattern with the Hartley’s and, instead of demanding valuables, simply went ahead and shot at them.
 

In addition to the drug charges he now faces in Mexico, Edgar Valdez Villarreal, also called “La Barbie” due to his blond hair and blue eyes, is facing charges in the United States for cocaine smuggling; it is alleged that Valdez is responsible for importing thousands of pounds of cocaine into the US. Mexican sources claim that federal police captured Valdez near Mexico City and that he is currently incarcerated at a secure location near the capital.

Valdez began his drug smuggling career in the Sinaloa Cartel, but left when one of the higher-level operators established his own drug trafficking ring. When the leader of the new cartel, Arturo Beltran Leyva, died in a conflict with members of Mexico’s military in late ’09, Valdez was elevated to a top position. Unfortunately for Valdez, the promotion has been disputed by both members of his own cartel and members of rival drug gangs. Hector Levya, the former leader’s brother, fought Valdez for control of the operation. This rivalry evolved into an all-out gang war, with tactics of beheading among the more heinous methods of killing. Valdez is also accused of killing rivals in other cartels, who once challenged his ascension by hanging and torturing members of Valdez’s cartel.

US prosecutors recently indicted Valdez in Atlanta on federal drug trafficking charges for activities that took place between 2004 and 2006. The government attorneys claimed that Valdez smuggled the drugs through Texas before delivering them to drug dealers in Atlanta. Atlanta currently stands as the center of drug trafficking in the south east of the US. Once the drugs were sold, however, the profits were returned to Mexico via the reverse route.

Valdez was born and raised in Laredo, Texas where he was a star football player. La Barbie is represented in the US by Houston criminal defense attorney Kent Schaffer, who indicated that his recent capture was not at all unexpected. Schaffer has expressed concern that Valdez will be tortured by Mexican authorities before he can be extradited back to America for his criminal trial. The lawyer’s concern for his client’s safety is growing, as he is currently unable to locate Valdez. However, US government sources are confident that La Barbie will be returned home unharmed given his notoriety – all eyes will be on Mexican law enforcement authorities and how they handle his incarceration and extradition proceedings.

Although Americans do not typically serve in the higher-level posts of Mexican drug cartels, La Barbie is not the only US citizen who has climbed this unique career ladder. Another Texan, Juan Garcia Abrego, ascended to the head of the Gulf Cartel in the 90’s, but was eventually extradited back to Houston to stand trial for drug smuggling crimes. He was convicted and is currently serving multiple life sentences.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7178804.html
 

A recent Black Star News report examined this same question. Highlighted in this piece were past news reports on money laundering activities of Robert VanCaneghan, a former member of the Board of the American Stock Exchange; the sexual assaults committed by an Amex supervisor; drug smuggling and money laundering by Amex Board member, Louis Miceli.

A key focus in accusations featured in the articles was Arthur Levitt, former chairman of the Amex and former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He is fingered as a key player in protecting drug dealers, money launderers and rapists at the American Stock Exchange.

At the same time, an Amex member suspected of laundering money for violent Jamaican Drug Lords was not investigated. Spear Leeds and Kellogg, major brokerage firms involved in money laundering for drug dealers, were also left uninvestigated.

The so-named criminals allegedly had direct ties to drug gangs in Jamaica, a country where violence is increasing as drug lords fight over trade routes and domination in lucrative markets.

In the middle of the chaos is the expected extradition of Christopher Coke, accused of smuggling cocaine and marijuana into New York. He is well-known for leading the drug gang, Shower Posse, which has been linked to the murders of 1,400 African-Americans in the United States.

Anyone who believes the United States and its people are merely victims of the drug chaos should take a closer look at who is really calling the shots.

Seizing the assets of a drug dealer is an important tool in law enforcement’s arsenal in the war on drugs. The stated goal of forfeiture is to disrupt criminal enterprises and prevent criminals from benefiting from illegal activities. However, there is a greater benefit for society at-large. For instance, in Rhode Island, officials use the money seized from illegal drug operations to fund law enforcement programs and substance abuse treatment programs.

From 2005 through 2010, officials in Rhode Island (from state agencies to local police departments) collected almost $9 million from drug dealers in drug asset forfeitures. By law, the government is permitted to take possession of money, cars and real estate belonging to drug dealers. Although most of the property is converted into cash to use in funding law enforcement programs or treatment, the agencies have the authority to keep motor vehicles for use in future operations. Cash is also used in undercover drug buying stings and to pay informants.

Once property is seized in drug cases, Rhode Island officials estimate that only about 10% take steps to recover the property. In a typical case, Rhode Island’s Attorney General files a case for forfeiture against the defendant in District Court and, when the defendant misses the filing deadline for a response, the case is won by default and the property is forfeited to the government. Tootell is one of the defendants who failed to file a response. However, he is now appealing the default decision in Rhode Island’s Superior Court, arguing that there was no probable cause to seize the property.

Under Rhode Island’s forfeiture statues, in order to have probable cause to take a suspect’s property, it must be located close enough to illicit drugs, drug paraphernalia, or drug records to create a legal connection. In the case of a drug ring, if a house is where the ring operates or a suspect delivered drugs to a customer in a motor vehicle, both the house and the car can be seized by the state. Further, if the suspect does not have gainful employment, money in his possession (either cash or money in some type of financial account) or items purchased with that money are presumed to be fruits of the illegal drug operation and can also be seized for forfeiture.

Since the forfeiture case is filed in civil court, and is independent of any charges currently pending against a suspect in a criminal case, the defendant does not need to be convicted of the crime in order to lose the property. The legal burden is on the defendant (in this case, Tootell) to prove that he did not obtain the property as a result of engaging in crime. While charges in criminal cases must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, a forfeiture case utilizes the lesser, and thus, more easily proven, preponderance of the evidence standard. For preponderance of the evidence, there need only be a 51% percent chance that the property is actually subject to forfeiture in order for the government to win.

The seizing of assets is a huge component in the war on drugs. The first federal asset forfeiture law for drug-related arrests, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, was passed in 1970. Since that time, the law has expanded and provided governments with wider latitude in asset forfeiture. Arguments against the constitutionality of the practice of asset forfeiture are habitually shot-down by federal courts.

The US Justice Department’s Asset Forfeiture Program, which recently celebrated its 25th year, has been hailed by government officials as the best way to both deprive criminals of ill-gotten gains and compensate victims for their losses. To date, over thirteen billion dollars in proceeds from asset forfeiture has been recorded by the Justice Department, most from drug enforcement operations. Roughly one-third of the money has been shared with state and local enforcement agencies to support ongoing programs. Clearly, a major benefit of the forfeiture program is the ability to use ill-gotten gains to fund future operations, instead of taxing law-abiding citizens.

Since 1987, Rhode Island has had its own drug forfeiture law. Property that can be linked to the criminal offense can be seized in the case of illegal drug dealing, transporting illegal explosives and firearms, violating hazardous waste statutes, operating a chop-shop or being in possession of auto parts with missing serial numbers, illegal gambling, and trademark and counterfeiting violations. The state has additional forfeiture statues, including one that allows authorities to seize a vehicle that has been used in a high-speed chase.

When the forfeiture program was first started, Rhode Island officials swept up property with zeal, sometimes overreaching and seizing legitimate property. However, over the years, the forfeiture program has settled down and administrators have become less aggressive in filing their cases, which are often time-consuming and riddled with complications. Such complications include little to no actual equity in a house or car, as well as the costly process by which seized property must be safeguarded until a final determination of ultimate ownership is made. Some items, such as electronics, have little to no resale value and cost more to seize and convert to cash than they actually generate in revenue.

When either the federal government or a state government is involved in the actual operation that resulted in asset forfeiture, the gains are typically doled out by the US Marshals Service or state Attorney General to local law enforcement agencies based on how much each agency contributed to the investigation. For joint operations between federal and state officials, the money is shared between entities. The majority of state money is generated through marijuana-related crime.

In Rhode Island, forfeitures initiated by the state result in the distribution of roughly 70 percent of proceeds to local law enforcement agencies. Of the remainder, two-thirds is retained by the District Attorney’s office for administrative fees and the remaining money goes to the state’s Mental Health department for use in substance abuse treatment.

In 1983, a police sergeant in the town of Little Compton, Rhode Island was assigned to aid the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in an investigation of a Pakistani hash smuggling ring; $84 million was forfeited under the program. For its role in the operation, Little Compton received a sizeable share of the proceeds, which it used in 2000 to fund a little over 25% of the cost of its new public safety building.

http://www.projo.com/news/content/Drug_Asset_Forfeitures_08-08-10_NIJ81QF_v185.21cc8c2.html
 

This problem is not going without notice. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), for example, is pushing for a thorough understanding of these links in order to develop effective strategies to prevent and disrupt the crimes of drug trafficking and terrorism.

Reports from UNODC show that drug trafficking organizations provide funds for insurgency and those who utilize terrorist violence in various parts of the world, including in transit regions that are poor and vulnerable, such as the Andes, Central America, the Caribbean, West Africa, the Balkans, and Central Asia. UNODC points to the fact that drugs are even used as currency in the commission of some terrorist attacks, as was the case in the Madrid bombings.

Breaking the links between drug trafficking and terrorism – and, thus, thwarting the funneling of funds to enable terrorism to flourish – involves using existing tools as well as developing new ones. At the international level, there is a common legal framework consisting of 16 universal anti-terrorist instruments. There are also relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Examples of such resolutions include those imposing sanctions – such as freezing of assets, a travel ban, and an arms embargo on members of the Taliban, Al-Qaida, and their associates.

Although drug trafficking organizations and terrorist groups seem like mysterious entities, they are composed of individuals who operate in ways that can be understood, identified, tracked, and, in the end, disrupted. Through the efforts of UNODC, the U.N. Security Council, and other organizations in member countries – including the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Department of Justice (DOJ), among others in the United States – more integrated, efficient, and effective networks need to be built up to bring down the illegitimate and destructive drug trafficking and terrorist organizations.

In a report issued in April 2010, the UNODC said that the agency’s efforts to spearhead the global war against trans-national criminal networks as part of an integrated strategy to combat drugs, crime, and terrorism is woefully short of resources. The report stresses that advances in globalization have helped strengthen trans-national crime. By taking advantage of innovations in technology, communication, and transportation, loose networks of terrorists and criminals can easily connect with each other, as well as with organized international criminal groups. The common thread linking these groups is drug trafficking.

During the proceedings in France, three of Noriega’s daughters sat in court at the Palace of Justice; their father was nearby in a cell. When last seen in the early 90’s, Noriega was the picture of health – a strong man who ruled with an iron fist. In court in France, however, spectators were surprised to see the once virile leader looking hunched-over and frail.

Noriega’s lawyers argued that the French government had no right to try him, as he is a former head of state. The Court held, however, that such protections end once a leader leaves office. They also argued that he was entitled to Geneva Convention protection for prisoners of war; the US had treated him as such. The French court rejected this argument as well.

The French justice system sentenced him to seven years in prison for money laundering. He will likely serve only one and a half years as he served three years in the US at the request of French authorities when his sentence there was done. There are currently no plans to appeal. The French originally tried Noriega in absentia in 1999 and sentenced him to ten years. Once France requested that he be extradited, however, he was entitled to be retried for the same charges. Thus, the new seven years sentence is actually a reduction.

In his defense, Noriega maintains that the roughly three million dollars in alleged dirty money was actually a combination of money from his rich brother, his rich wife, and payments from the CIA.

The CIA story is, at least at first blush, entirely plausible. Before we ousted him, Noriega cooperated with multiple US agencies in thwarting the growth of communism in several Latin American counties. The relationship started in the 1950’s and remained intact until the late 1980’s, when the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) indicted him on federal drug charges.

Noriega fell out of favor with the US partly because of his relationship with drug cartels. Noriega turned out to be a key player in Pablo Escabar’s Medellin Cartel. However, Congressional investigations revealed that US government agencies ignored Noriega’s corruption and involvement with drug dealers when it suited them. When he turned out to be more of a liability than an asset, they hung him out to dry. A US military invasion removed him from power in 1989; he hid out in the Vatican’s Embassy in Panama and surrendered to US forces just after the New Year in 1990.

Noriega was a career military man, having attended military school in Lima, Peru. He is also alleged to have received intelligence and psyops training at military bases in the US in the 1960’s. Once he returned to Panama, Noriega began his military career in the Panama National Guard and worked his way up to the post of commander of military forces. Noriega was the ruler of Panama from 1983 through 1989.

After his capture, Noriega was flown back to the US as a prisoner of war and indicted on eight counts of drug trafficking, criminal racketeering and money laundering. He went on trial in Miami in April, 1992 and was convicted in September. During the trial, Noriega hoped to introduce evidence that his actions were permitted under his agreement with the CIA. US prosecutors objected to disclosure of the information, citing national security issues. Although Noriega argued that he had received close to ten million dollars from the CIA, government lawyers were willing to stipulate to just a fraction of that. The district court judge further ruled that his transactions with the CIA were irrelevant to the case at hand.

Noriega appealed the exclusion ruling, which was overturned by the Eleventh Circuit. However, the Court refused to set aside the verdict, finding that the information would not have changed the outcome of the trial.

Following his conviction in the US, Noriega was sentenced to forty years in prison; this sentence was later reduced to thirty. He served approximately 17 years at the (relatively) posh “club med” correctional facility. His US prison term ended in the fall of 2007; he remained in US custody at the request of France.

Noriega fought the extradition request, however, requesting that he instead be allowed to return to Panama to face murder charges for the 1985 death of his former rival Hugo Spadafora. He also faces charges for the 1989 torture and murder of mutinous Panamanian soldiers. Panama’s Foreign Ministry has submitted a request to the French government for Noriega to be extradited to Panama to answer for his crimes. France currently does not have an extradition treaty with Panama that would cover such a request. Noriega opponents fear that, if he were extradited, he would serve out his sentence in the relative comfort of house arrest instead of in one of Frances most infamous prisons, La Sante. The prison is located in a residential neighborhood in Paris and was in operation during World War II. It is known for its harsh conditions.

France hasn’t always so inhospitable to Noriega, though. Former French president Francois Mitterrand awarded Noriega the French Legion of Honor in 1987. The Legion of Honor is the highest decoration in France and was initiated by Napoleon in 1802.

http://www.newsroompanama.com/panama/1463-noriega-will-not-appeal-french-jail-sentence.html
 

Americans are also big fans of buying things on the cheap, a practice that encourages global exploitation of low-wage workers and exportation of American jobs overseas (outsourcing). The American meth trade is a perfect example of a combination of these two elements, addiction and outsourcing. Over the past few decades, illicit meth use has been on the rise. Meth is an attractive drug of choice due to its affordability, especially in economically depressed areas in the South and Midwest of the United States.

Methamphetamine (“meth”) is a stimulant drug that increases alertness, concentration, and energy levels. Meth can even lead to feelings of euphoria, over-inflated self-esteem, and an increased sex drive. Because it acts on the reward systems in the brain by increasing dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin levels, meth is highly addictive. Although meth is approved by the FDA to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obesity under the brand names Adderall and Desoxyn, all other sources of meth come through illegal drug manufacturing.

Back in the day, before the Feds got smart, meth could be made by anyone with access to a drug store and a stove because common over-the-counter cold remedies provided an infinite source of the raw materials ephedra and pseudoephedra. In fact, meth can still be made at home, but on a much smaller scale than before. Due to the government’s recent strict regulation of medications that contain the building blocks for meth, US meth users have had to look to non-domestic sources of the drug.

Mexico picks up the slack in the US meth trade

Once the US federal government cracked down on meth manufacturing here, Mexico stepped in to fill the hole on the production end. With demand at similar or increased levels and a relative lack of competition, the US meth trade became a sure thing for Mexico’s drug lords. For the Mexican underworld, the US meth endeavor has been wildly successful. It is estimated that the drug trade in Mexico, for all substances, approaches $40 billion per year. While access to pseudoephedrine dried up in the US in the past five years, makers in Mexico have been able to smuggle the ingredient into Mexico from Asia.

One of the leading drug cartels in Mexico, La Familia, specializes in the manufacturing of meth, as well as the trafficking of the finished product from Mexico to the US. While drug cartels on the whole are not known to be peaceful organizations, La Familia is particularly violent. In the city of Zitzcuaro in western Michoacan, this fundamentalist Christian “family” of 1500 is lead by Nazario Moreno (“El Mas Loco”), who has written his own bible and schedules prayer meetings prior to work. The Craziest One is also a fan of beheadings; there have been twenty so far this year, including one federal police officer.

There is currently a $2.5 million price on Moreno’s head in Mexico. US President Barack Obama has specifically identified Moreno as a significant drug trafficker and threat to US interests. More alarmingly, this particular cartel has many Mexican officials and law enforcement officers on the payroll. While many drug lords use pay offs simply to ensure that officials will overlook illicit criminal activity, many officials owned by Moreno actually carry out assigned tasks. To the people living in the areas controlled by Moreno, he is seen as the Mexican version of Robin Hood, providing these poor communities with food and money generated from his meth business. La Familia owns as much as thirty percent of Mexico’s commercial businesses.

While the knowledge that “Loco” and his family are living just over the border in Mexico should be troubling enough, the fact that this cartel both manufactures and traffics the meth means that members of the family routinely end up in the US. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested three hundred members in October 2009 alone. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) estimates that Mexico imports approximately $20 billion worth of meth into the US each year, with “La Familia” providing about half of that.

It is estimated that La Familia has over one thousand meth labs in Mexico and is known to produce extremely clean product, free from many of the impurities that make home grown meth in the US dangerous during both manufacturing and consumption. The high quality of the operation is, perhaps, explained by the fact that none of Moreno’s workers are permitted to use drugs; they are also prohibited from selling meth to other members of the community. Violating Loco’s rules can be dangerous – on the third strike, the offender is executed. Experts claim that the high quality of Loco’s meth is actually to blame for a recent increase in demand for meth in the US.

Combating such a powerful drug lord has been a serious problem for Mexico’s president. Calderon recently requested $1.5 billion in antidrug aid from the US government and has been encouraged to offer attractive alternatives to those who would otherwise join the gang. Those in the know, however, fear that it may be too late for the Mexican government to get in front of La Familia. As long as the demand for meth in the US exists, El Mas Loco and his family will be there to supply clean, quality product.

Source: Time Magazine – Mexico’s Meth Warriors
 

According to a recent Google News report, the United States is fed up with the problem in West Africa and plans to impose sanctions on those individuals involved in the drug trade. The key focus is Guinea-Bissau and West Africa.

The government is encouraging other nations to follow its lead, hoping to cut off the financing for drug traffickers. West Africa is becoming destabilized as a result of the increase in drug trafficking, putting other nations at risk.

Brooke Anderson, U.S. deputy ambassador noted that the presence of drug money and organized crime in West Africa is clear. Activities surrounding both are a considerable threat to the security and stability throughout the region.

Anderson’s concerns were shared after a U.N. Security Council meeting in which officials highlighted the threats to Guinea-Bissau from the cocaine trade. The tiny West African nation has already been suffering under political upheaval and the current destabilization as a result of drug trafficking is only making matters worse.

Drug kingpins were identified in Guinea-Bissau’s leadership this spring. The nation’s former navy chief was accused of a coup attempt in 2008. This man and the current chief of the air force have been identified as kingpins and all U.S. assets have been frozen. In addition, all Americans are prevented from legally doing business with these men.

It was argued by Anderson that these sanctions were not enough and all nations should join together to upset the drug trafficking empire.