Guerrilla Governance: The ELN’s Social Control in Táchira
On July 25, 2025, bursts of gunfire disrupted the usual calm in La Fría, a town in the Venezuelan state…
The Future of the ELN
The future of the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN) is now intimately connected to Venezuela. As…
Border Wars: The ELN and the Takeover of Catatumbo
On the morning of January 16, 2025, hundreds of Colombian rebels, some who invaded from Venezuela, launched an offensive to…
On the Radar: US Targets and Negotiates with Traffickers
This week, we analyze the US’s anti-drug strategy in South America, a Sinaloa Cartel boss’s guilty plea, and the pardoning…
Could Armed Groups Backed by Maduro Resist a US Invasion of Venezuela?
With the United States weighing up a military intervention to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power, the criminal organizations…
The Pros and Cons of a US Intervention in Venezuela
The world has been watching for weeks to see if the United States will escalate its militarized anti-drug mission in…
US Foreign Terrorist Designations in Latin America: An Interactive Map
The United States has intensified its tactics for fighting organized crime in Latin America, including designating various Latin American criminal…
The Shifting Tides of Drug Trafficking on Venezuela’s Margarita Island
The small fishing vessel Sedna set sail as usual on the morning of June 3 from Punta Arenas, one of…
Timeline of US Strikes Against Alleged Drug Boats
The deadly US military strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels in international waters mark a quantum leap and an aggressive escalation…
Why Mexican Traffickers Are Leaving Zulia, Venezuela
Major Mexican drug trafficking networks that used to have a strong presence in the state of Zulia in northwest Venezuela…