cocaine

Bolivia: six dead, one abducted in presumed narco attack

Posted on May 17th, 2010 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , .

AndesAt least six people were killed—three of Serbian nationality and three Bolivians—and one was kidnapped in an assault perpetrated by suspected drug traffickers in Bolivia's eastern department of Santa Cruz on May 15. The victims were stopped at a false police checkpoint and were tied up, tortured and executed, authorities said.

New York state to get drug convict "register"?

Posted on May 14th, 2010 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

New York State Sen. George H. Winner Jr. (R-Elmira) plans to renew efforts to pass legislation creating a state-level drug dealer registry that would require convicted felony drug convicts to register with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services for up to 10 years. The effort was prompted by several high profile felony drug arrests across the state's Southern Tier, along with input from local law enforcement officials, Winner said. The registry would be similar to one that is already in place for convicted sex offenders.

2010 National Drug Control Strategy: limited progress

Posted on May 11th, 2010 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

On May 11, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP, or "Drug Czar" office) released its 2010 National Drug Control Strategy, marking a shift of emphasis from law enforcement to treatment and prevention—compared to the enforcement-centered strategy of the Bush administration.

Bolivia cracks down on "Norwegian Cartel"

Posted on May 11th, 2010 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

In a case sensationalized by the Bolivian press as a crackdown on a "Norwegian Cartel," a Bolivian national was sentenced to 20 years last month, and two Norwegians to 13 years each on charges of attempting to smuggle 22 kilos of cocaine out of the country. The defendants, all in their 20s, were arrested in May 2008 with cocaine hidden in their backpacks. Bolivian authorities say they were recruited by crime bosses in Norway, with promises of luxury vacations as well as payments of $1,500. (World War 4 Report, May 10)

Mexico extradites ex-governor as cartel crackdown widens

Posted on May 11th, 2010 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , .

Mario Ernesto Villanueva Madrid, ex-governor of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, was extradited to the US on May 10 to face charges of accepting some $20 millions in bribes from the notorious Juárez Cartel in exchange for allowing in the transport of over 200 tons of cocaine through his state towards North American markets. US prosecutors say the money was laundered through accounts at Lehman Brothers in New York. Appearing in federal court in New York the day of his extradition, Villanueva pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Peru: Sendero establishes new command for Upper Huallaga

Posted on May 11th, 2010 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

Peru's Sendero Luminoso guerillas, thought to be confined to a small pocket of high jungle known as the Apurimac-Ene River Valley (VRAE), on April 27 launched an attack on a government coca-eradication team in the Upper Huallaga Valley, a region to the north of the VRAE that had been the rebels' principal stronghold in the 1990s. One National Police officer and two eradication workers with Special Control and Reduction Project (CORAH) were killed in the ambush at Alto Corvina, Huánuco region.

Coca-Colla: This one really is the Real Thing

Posted on April 22nd, 2010 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , .

The Bolivian state-supported company, Social Organization for the Industrailization of Coca (Ospicoca), began marketing this week a new carbonated energy drink called "Coca Colla"--which, unlike Coca-Cola, really does contain extract of coca leaf. "Colla" is a reference to the traditional name for the Aymara indigenous people of Bolivia, who have used coca leaf ritually for centuries. The initiative has the support of Evo Morales, the country's first Aymara president.

Decrim in Mexico; recrim in Colombia

Posted on April 4th, 2010 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

2009 saw both a significant advance and retreat for a humane drug policy in Washington's two closest Drug War allies in Latin America. First in August—in a move that made few stateside headlines, and registered not a peep of protest from the Obama administration—Mexico's conservative President Felipe Calderón signed into law a bill decriminalizing "personal quantities" of all drugs.

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