1-800 EXTORTION is the number that the state of Ecuador encourages citizens to call if they have been victims of an infamous extortionary method colloquially referred to as “vaccines” (“vacunas” in Spanish). Extortionists collect vaccine payments from local businesses periodically, charging them for the promise of “protection.” Cases of extortion in Ecuador have been steadily […]
Tag: drug trafficking
Stopping the Fentanyl Crisis Starts With Better Intelligence
Imagine every two weeks, two packed commercial airplanes hijacked by foreign adversaries were barreled into skyscrapers full of Americans. A 9/11-level attack every two weeks. Allowing an event like this to recur every two weeks should be unacceptable to Americans. Every day, Americans would worry for their safety. Lawsuits would be filed left and right […]
The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone: Where Criminals Rule
The meandering Mekong River divides Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos at a geographical point colloquially known as the Golden Triangle. On the Southwestern banks lies Thailand, an economic powerhouse in the region. In the Northwest lies Myanmar, a nation struggling with significant conflict, pushing some farmers to opium production to make ends meet. In the Northeast […]
South America: The Selectively Remembered Continent
Post Fujimorismo Whiplash. It is a phrase that might describe the current state of affairs in Peru over a decade after the removal of authoritarian President Alberto Fujimori, who went to extremes to combat narcotics such as engaging in the systematic elimination of citizens associated with the narcotics industry and the Shining Path, a Maoist […]