The King Is Dead, Long Live the Queen
The January 3 operation that seized Nicolás Maduro defied the rules of foreign intervention, sending shockwaves through world capitals and…
The Shifting US Portrait of the Cartel of the Suns
US President Donald Trump appeared full of swagger on January 3, as he announced the arrest of his Venezuelan counterpart…
The Criminal Portfolio Sustaining Military Loyalty in Venezuela
On November 27, 2024 – just over a year before the US invaded Caracas to arrest him – Venezuelan President…
The Evolution of the Cartel of the Suns
On February 18, General Francis Donovan, the head of the United States Southern Command, made a surprise appearance in Venezuela.…
Camaraderie and Drug Trafficking: Colombian Guerrillas in Venezuela
It was 2016 when Raúl* received a visit that would mark the beginning of a long nightmare. A Venezuelan general…
The Future of Drug Trafficking Out of Venezuela
Drug trafficking out of Venezuela predates Nicolás Maduro and will long outlive him. The question is whether the cocaine trade…
US Sanctions in Latin America Have Increased. But Can They Be Enforced?
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is unleashing a wave of sanctions on drug traffickers and…
The State of Play: US Anti-Drug Cooperation in Latin America
Since US President Richard Nixon declared drugs public enemy number one in the 1970s and created the Drug Enforcement Administration…
Video: Are ICE’s Roundups in the United States an Effective Anti-Crime Strategy?
The Trump administration has used the threat of organized crime to justify roundups of suspected undocumented migrants in states across…
Nicolás Maduro
The former president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, oversaw the consolidation of a hybrid state in which governance and criminality became…