The World Wide War on Drugs #5 - Het begin van het einde?

quote:

Call off war on drugs, leader of Guatemala tells the west

Otto Pérez Molina says regulated narcotics market must be introduced to forestall threat to democracy from drug cartels

The west's "war on drugs" has failed and continuing with prohibition will only cost more lives, the Guatemalan president, Otto Pérez Molina, declares in an interview in the Observer.

In a further sign that the global consensus on drugs is fragmenting, Pérez Molina will use a debate at this week's Davos forum in Switzerland to attack the international community for its support for prohibition, and to call for a regulated narcotics market.

"I believe western countries fail to understand the reality that countries such as Guatemala and those of Central America have to live in," said Pérez Molina. "There has been plenty of talk, but no effective response. I believe, ultimately, that this is due to a lack of understanding on the part of western countries."

He said western leaders must look beyond their domestic agendas. "A message should be sent to the leaders of the countries with the biggest drug markets. They must think not only of… the context of their country, but of what is happening in the world, in regions such as Central America, where this destruction, this weakening of democracy, is happening. They must be open to recognising that the struggle against drugs, in the way it has been conducted, has failed."

Up to 400 tonnes of cocaine are transited through Guatemala each year, up from seven tonnes in 2008, because US-led operations in the Caribbean and the Pacific have prompted the cartels to seek alternative trafficking routes.

Pérez Molina said the cartels now pose a serious threat to the Guatemalan state. "Drug traffickers have been able to penetrate the institutions in this country by employing their resources and money," he said. "We are talking about the security forces, public prosecutors, judges. Drug money has penetrated these institutions and it becomes an activity that directly threatens the institutions and, therefore, the democracy of countries."

He said the cartels were getting stronger. "The flow of arms towards Central America from the north and deaths in our country have grown."

He does not favour full legalisation of narcotics but is arguing for the introduction of a regulated drugs market. His comments come shortly after two US states, Colorado and Washington, voted to legalise marijuana. He predicted that attitudes within the US government would see the country soften its stance on prohibition.

"There is going to be a change away from the paradigm of prohibitionism and the war against drugs, and there is going to be a process that will take us towards regulation. So I would expect a more flexible and more open position from President Obama in his second term."

Pérez Molina also said he has a message for western drug users. "They should reflect not only on the harm to their own health, but also on the deaths that enable them to consume that cocaine."

quote:

George Soros backs Guatemalan president's call to end war on drugs

Billionaire philanthropist George Soros said the war on drugs had endangered political stability and security in many countries

George Soros has thrown his support behind the president of Guatemala's efforts to end the war on drugs.

Soros, who is best know for leading a run on the pound in 1992 that forced the UK out of the European exchange rate mechanism, said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that world leaders had their best chance in at least two decades to rethink their approach to drugs.

"Drug policy has endangered political stability and security in many countries, and not just in Latin America," he said, citing Mali as one of several African countries to suffer.

Soros told a press conference that austerity was encouraging politicians, even in the US, to rethink the war on drugs. "Incarceration is hugely expensive … The cost of alternatives is smaller than the cost of incarceration," he said.

The billionaire philanthropist was speaking alongside the Guatemalan president, Pérez Molina, who announced that he would host a meeting of Latin American leaders to discuss the issue in June. The gathering will involve several groups including the Berkeley Foundation and Soros's own organisation. "Prohibition, this war on drugs, has seen cartels grow and the results are not what we looked for," Molina said. "There is a new trend towards drugs now – not war, but a new perspective and a different way of dealing with the problem."

Molina is determined to use Davos to shift the focus of the drugs debate from morality to science. He told the Observer last week that drug money had penetrated Guatemala's judicial system and security forces, and that he favoured a regulatory approach to drugs, rather than the extremes of a full-blown war on drugs or a policy of liberalisation.

Yasmin Batliwala, chair of Westminster Drug Project, agreed that politicians must tackle the problem by helping users rather than punishing them. "Drug dependency should be seen as a health and social problem, not a crime. Offenders with drug dependency and mental illness should be sent into treatment rather than to prison," she said.

"It is time to take drug dependency out of law enforcement and into the health framework, where it belongs. The war on drugs has failed and it is clear that we need a new approach at both a national and a global level."

Soros admitted that he did not know what the best solution to the problem was. "The answer will only be found by trial and error," he said.

quote:

Briton Lindsay Sandiford sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking

Grandmother from Redcar was arrested in May after Bali police said they found £1.6m-worth of cocaine in her suitcase

A British woman has been sentenced to death after attempting to smuggle £1.6m-worth of cocaine into Bali.

Lindsay Sandiford, a 56-year-old grandmother, originally from Redcar in Teesside, was arrested for drug trafficking in May last year after local police said they found almost 5kg of cocaine in the lining of her suitcase.

There were gasps of surprise in Denpasar district court as the sentence was handed down; the prosecution had sought a 15-year prison term, not the death penalty, but the judge ruled that Sandiford's attempted crime had damaged Bali's image.

Sandiford wept as judges handed down the sentence, covering her face with a scarf as she left the courtroom to return to prison. She earlier told the court she was forced into taking the drugs into the country by gangsters who were threatening to hurt one of her children, saying "the lives of my children were in danger".

Sandiford is now expected to appeal within the next 14 days. If all legal avenues are exhausted she could ask the president for clemency. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has granted clemency to four drug offenders on death row since taking office in 2004.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We can confirm that a British national is facing the death penalty in Indonesia. We remain in close contact with that national and continue to provide consular assistance. The UK remains opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances."

Delivering the sentence, a panel headed by Judge Amser Simanjuntak said Sandiford had damaged the image of Bali as a tourist destination and weakened the government's anti-drug programme. "We found no reason to lighten her sentence," he said.

In her witness statement earlier in the trial, Sandiford expressed regret for her actions. "I would like to begin by apologising to the Republic of Indonesia and the Indonesian people for my involvement. I would never have become involved in something like this but the lives of my children were in danger and I felt I had to protect them," she said.

During the trial, her lawyer read out a statement from her son that said: "I love my mother very much and have a very close relationship with her. I know that she would do anything to protect me. I cannot imagine what I would do if she was sentenced to death in relation to these charges."

Reprieve, a legal action charity, said Sandiford was a vulnerable target for drugs traffickers, pointing to an expert report from Dr Jennifer Fleetwood that was put before the court. Fleetwood concluded that Sandiford's vulnerability would have made her an ideal target for drugs traffickers, noting that: "There is … evidence to suggest that a trafficker would seek someone who was vulnerable. Having reviewed extracts from Lindsay's medical records I know that Lindsay has a history of mental health issues … This may have unfortunately made her an attractive target for threats, manipulation and coercion."

Harriet McCulloch, an investigator at Reprieve, said Sandiford maintained that she only agreed to carry the package to Bali after receiving threats against the lives of her family. "She is clearly not a drug kingpin – she has no money to pay for a lawyer, for the travel costs of defence witnesses or even for essentials like food and water," she said. "She has co-operated fully with the Indonesian authorities but has been sentenced to death while the gang operating in the UK, Thailand and Indonesia remain free to target other vulnerable people."

Martin Horwood, Liberal Democrat MP for Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire, where Sandiford lived previously, said the sentence came as a shock, as Indonesian prosecutors had not sought it.

"The days of the death penalty ought to be past. This is not the way that a country that now values democracy and human rights should really be behaving," he told BBC News. "When the prosecutors asked for something less than the death sentence, for a custodial sentence, then I guess I'm afraid some of us perhaps relaxed a little and this has come as a real shock that the judges have actually delivered a sentence which is obviously much, much harsher than the one that was actually requested by prosecutors."

Three other Britons were alleged to be involved in the same plot to smuggle drugs into Bali. Julian Ponder faces being executed by firing squad if found guilty of playing a role in the smuggling scheme when his verdict is given on Wednesday. He is accused of receiving the drugs in Bali, but claimed he was trapped.

His lawyers said he was told Sandiford was delivering a present for his child's birthday and, when he met her to receive the gift, police officers arrested him. His partner, Rachel Dougall, 38, from Brighton, received a one-year jail sentence in the Denpasar district court last month. She had already been in jail for eight months awaiting trial and could be reunited with her daughter by April.

Property developer Paul Beales, a long-time Bali resident, was also spared a harsh sentence when judges gave him four years for possession of a small amount of hashish.

Indonesia has one of the strictest drug policies in the world, with about 40 foreigners on death row convicted of drug crimes, according to a March 2012 report by Australia's Lowy Institute for International Policy.

Five foreigners have been executed since 1998, all for drug crimes, according to the institute. There have been no executions in the country since 2008, when 10 people were put to death.

quote:

OM eist maximale straf, hasjbaas gevlogen

Met 8 jaar cel heeft het Openbaar Ministerie (OM) dinsdag voor de rechtbank in Arnhem de hoogst mogelijke straf geëist tegen een 38-jarige Arnhemse hasjbaas, hoewel die inmiddels in Marokko woont en niet uitgeleverd kan worden.

Justitie beschuldigt Ahmed C. van het invoeren en doorverkopen van 65.000 kilo hasj en het witwassen van 23,5 miljoen euro tussen 2005 en 2008. Zijn 49-jarige halfbroer Khalid el B, die altijd al in Marokko verbleef, moet wegens het witwassen van minstens 9 miljoen euro 4 jaar cel opgelegd krijgen, vindt de aanklager.

De officier van justitie gelooft dat C. een enorme internationale hasjhandel bestierde en dat hij de winsten gebruikte voor huizen, auto's, hotels, schepen en investeringen in nieuwe transporten. 'Kijk je naar de enorme schaal van deze zaak, dan verbleken zogenaamd gevestigde hasjcriminelen als Willem Holleeder en wijlen Charles Zwolsman bij deze verdachte', stelde de aanklager.

Hoewel de officier niet aantoont dat C. zelf ooit een gram hasj aanraakte, bewijzen onder meer een aangetroffen hasjboekhouding, telefoonverkeer, onderschepte transporten door anderen, geldstromen en verhullende leenconstructies dat C. spin in dit hasjweb was, vindt het OM.

De winsten werden witgewassen in huizen in Nederland, Spanje en Marokko, via bankrekeningen van de halfbroer en met voorgenomen investeringen in bizar luxe jachten. 'Ik ben van plan om 23 miljoen en 9 miljoen van de heren te plukken in aparte zaken, hoewel ik denk dat C. inmiddels genoeg hotels heeft om zich zelfs dan nooit meer zorgen te maken.'

Volgens advocaat Bart Nooitgedacht, die in de zaak twee keer succesvol wraakte, moet de rechtbank de zaak meteen naar de prullenbak verwijzen omdat justitie allerlei spelregels heeft overtreden. Zo niet, dan is de zaak volgens hem überhaupt niet te bewijzen omdat de aanklager van alles aanneemt zonder dat er deugdelijk bewijs is. Als de rechtbank daar anders over denkt, vindt hij dat de halfbroers alsnog een vrijgeleide moeten krijgen om hun verhaal te komen doen zonder het risico dat ze direct achter slot en grendel verdwijnen.

De uitspraak wordt in februari verwacht.

quote:

Nederland blijft spil in drugshandel

^{Nederland is Europa's 'hoofdproducent' van harddrugs}

Of het nu gaat om de internationale handel in cocaïne, cannabis of XTC, Nederland is en blijft een sleutelrol vervullen. Dat blijkt uit een rapport van Europol.

België en Nederland zijn een belangrijke doorvoerhaven voor cocaïne, zo staat in het rapport.

Beide landen vervullen ook een belangrijke rol in de internationale handel in hasj. Nederland heeft ook een belangrijke rol in de handel van methamfetamine naar Scandinavië.

'Hoofdproducent' van harddrugs
Nederland wordt ook door veel andere Europese landen aangeduid als het land bij uitstek waar xtc vandaan komt. Nederland is Europa's 'hoofdproducent' van de harddrug, zo stelt Europol.

Europol meldt verder dat Chinese bedrijven en groothandels in Nederland de doorvoer van synthetische drugs binnen de Europese Unie faciliteren, doordat ze gebruik maken van een netwerk van Chinese gemeenschappen. Ook neemt het aantal verdachten van Marokkaanse afkomst in de handel in synthetische drugs toe.

quote:

De puurste en goedkoopste coke te vinden in Nederland

quote:

'Het is belangrijk dat we een beter beeld krijgen van de impact van drugshandel op de Europese samenleving en economie', verklaarde eurocommissaris Cecilia Malström van Binnenlandze Zaken in het voorwoord het belang van het onderzoek.

quote:

Amerikaanse gevangenissen barsten uit hun voegen

quote:

Het rapport maakt duidelijk dat steeds meer gevangenen veroordeeld zijn voor inbreuken op de immigratiewet en wapenbezit, maar dat de grootste groep achter slot en grendel zit voor relatief onbeduidende drugsmisdrijven. Deze aanpak doet de misdaadcijfers niet dalen, waarschuwt CRS-analist Nathan James, auteur van het rapport.

Hij verwijst naar misdrijven waarbij iemand anders de plaats van de gearresteerde inneemt. "Als je een serieverkrachter opsluit, kan je er zeker van zijn dat hij niet meer zal toeslaan en dat er hoogstwaarschijnlijk ook niemand zijn plaats inneemt. Maar bij een drugdealer ligt dat anders. Het is niet zeker dat de drughandel stopt als je een dealer oppakt", legt James uit.

quote:

Fears of violence creeping into Mexico City

War on drugs has largely stayed away from the capital, but now police are warning it could spread.

The war on drugs in Mexico has largely stayed away from its capital city. But now some police chiefs are warning the violence could spread.

On Sunday, 18 suspected members of La Familia cartel were arrested in connection to recent killings in Mexico City's suburbs.

Adam Raney reports.

Fears of violence creeping into Mexican capital

quote:

Colombiaanse FARC wil legalisering drugs

(Novum/AP) - De rebellenbeweging FARC heeft de Colombiaanse regering woensdag opgeroepen de kweek van marihuana, papaver en coca te legaliseren, evenals de persoonlijke consumptie van drugs afkomstig van deze planten. De hoofdonderhandelaar van de FARC bij de vredesgesprekken met de regering, Ivan Marquez, presenteerde het voorstel als onderdeel van het standpunt dat de rebellen innemen in de gesprekken.

"De legalisering van de consumptie samen met een goede scholing van jongeren, zoals dat in het verleden is gebeurd met tabak en alcohol, kan ook met cocaïne worden gedaan", zei Marquez. Hij zei ook dat Colombia, tegelijk met de legalisering, het probleem moet oplossen 'van de boeren die uit economische noodzaak coca verbouwen'.

De FARC heeft lang geld verdiend aan de kweek van coca, het basisingrediënt van cocaïne, om zijn gewapende strijd te financieren. De Colombiaanse en andere regeringen beschuldigen de FARC ervan betrokken te zijn bij illegale drugshandel, waaronder het smokkelen van drugs naar Venezuela. De rebellen ontkennen die beschuldigingen. Deskundigen betwijfelen of voor een vredesakkoord lokale FARC-commandanten die geld verdienen aan de drugshandel overgehaald kunnen worden ermee te stoppen.

President Juan Manuel Santos heeft gezegd open te staan voor een debat over de legalisering van drugs. Hij heeft de Verenigde Staten en andere ontwikkelde landen opgeroepen hun verantwoordelijkheid te nemen als grootste consumenten van illegale drugs.

quote:

Marijuana Bills introduced in Congress: Efforts Surge to Reform Marijuana Laws

Driven by a groundswell of public opinion, Colorado and Washington state last November became the first states in the U.S. to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. That wave of support, it now seems clear, has echoed through the U.S. Congress, which Tuesday formally questioned the federal government’s prohibitionist drug policy in the form of marijuana reform bills.

Representatives Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., introduced two separate bills that would drastically change U.S. marijuana laws by addressing what they say are the human and fiscal costs associated with marijuana-related arrests.

It’s not the first time marijuana reform bill have been introduced in Congress, but Tuesday’s measures are considered historic in scope and give further momentum to a marijuana legalization movement that has surged recently from Colorado to Washington to Latin America.

The Polis bill, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act, would call on the federal government to regulate marijuana much like it does alcohol. Under the measure, cannabis growers would have to obtain a federal permit in states that legalize the drug. The bill does not force any state to legalize pot, but it does allow states that approve recreational and medical marijuana regulatory systems to operate without the fear of crackdowns from the Drug Enforcement Administration. The measure would also transfer authority to regulate marijuana from the DEA to a renamed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana and Firearms.

“In my short time in Congress, and certainly over the last few decades, Americans have increasingly come to the conclusion that the drug war is a failed policy,” said Polis. “While substance abuse is a real problem we need to address, we need to address it increasingly as a public health issue more than a criminal issue.”

The Blumenauer bill, meanwhile, would create a taxation framework for pot similar to that in place for tobacco and alcohol. The Marijuana Tax Equity Act would impose an excise tax of 50% on the “first sale” of marijuana, from growers to processors or retailers. The measure would also tax pot producers $1,000 annually and other marijuana-related businesses $500. Blumenauer said that imposing such a tax would help lower the national deficit while providing funds for drug treatment centers and law enforcement units.

“There is an opportunity for us to make, at a minimum, a $100 billion difference over the next 10 years,” said Blumenauer.

There were 1.5 million drugs arrests made in the U.S. in 2011, according to the FBI. Of those arrests, over 660,000 were for possession of marijuana. The enforcement of federal marijuana laws, including incarceration, costs at least $5.5 billion annually, according to study by the CATO Institute. In New York state alone, the estimated cost of marijuana related arrests surpasses $75 million every year, according to the Drug Policy Alliance, a non-profit that supports drug policy reform.

Passage of the two bills remains a long shot, according to analysts, but Rep. Blumenauer said the measures are just the beginning of a Congressional push to reform what he calls “antiquated, ineffective and, in some cases, nonsensical federal policies and laws.” Blumenauer pointed to a growing swell of support for marijuana reform measures among his colleagues on Capitol Hill.

In December, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he intends to hold hearings on the conflicts between state and federal marijuana laws. And Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, D-Calif., is soon expected to introduce a measure that would allow states to establish pot policies without federal interference.

“These are the first two of what will probably be eight, 10 bills or more,” said Blumenauer, referring to Tuesday’s measures. Added Polis: “There is growing support within the Democratic caucus and also within the Republican caucus for reexamining the future of the drug war.”

The sudden flurry of federal action on cannabis comes as national polls highlight an outpouring of support for marijuana legalization in recent years. A Gallup poll in October showed that a record high 50% of Americans believe marijuana should be legal. By contrast, just over 30% of Americans held the same view in 2000. Support for medical marijuana is even stronger. A 2012 Gallup poll indicated that 70% of Americans believe it should be legal for a doctor to prescribe pot to reduce pain and suffering.

“Congress is frequently a lagging indicator for public opinion,” said Polis. “Public opinion is that it should be up to states and local governments how to deal with marijuana—it’s just a question of how we’re going to catch up, not if.”

Congressmen Blumenauer And Polis Move To End The Federal Prohibition Of Marijuana

Congressmen Blumenauer And Polis Move To End The Federal Prohibition Of Marijuana

quote:

PvdA wil gemeentelijke wietplantages toestaan

Minister Ivo Opstelten (Veiligheid en Justitie) moet zijn verzet tegen de plannen voor gemeentelijke wietplantages opgeven. Daarvoor pleit de PvdA. Gemeentelijke kwekerijen zullen volgens de partij een oplossing bieden voor de georganiseerde misdaad.

PvdA-Kamerlid Myrthe Hilkens zei vrijdagmorgen op Radio1 dat de partij Opstelten er niet toe wil bewegen om onmiddellijk met dat experiment te beginnen, want 'dat ligt wel wat complexer'. 'Wat wij zouden willen is dat er een moment zou komen waarop we in één klap kunnen overstappen op een nieuw beleid', aldus Hilkens.

'Het kabinet is daar tot nu toe te verdeeld over geweest. Mijn partij wil wel gaan praten met die gemeenten die al hebben aangegeven niet onwelwillend te staan tegenover eigen wietteelt.'

quote:

Recordvangst hasj in Westland

quote:

Video Een vondst van 6,5 duizend kilo hasj in het Westland; volgens de politie en het Openbaar Ministerie een recordvangst.

quote:

Grenades go off near U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

NUEVA LOREDO, Mexico, Feb. 8 (UPI) — Three grenades exploded in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, just outside the U.S. Consulate, rattling the neighborhood but causing no injuries, officials said.

The grenades apparently were used in a fight Thursday between members of the Zetas drug cartel and the Gulf cartel, which is trying to reclaim the territory, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Fighting between the two groups, one-time allies, has left a string of burned-out homes and bodies. Sources told the Morning News seven people have been killed in recent days, including three Americans.

Nuevo Laredo, an entry into Texas via Interstate 35, is known as the Zetas’ headquarters.

The Morning News said the Gulf cartel is believed to be backed by the Sinaloa crime organization as it tries to eliminate the Zetas and control the profitable drug route into the United States.

“Things will only heat up,” one person, speaking anonymously, told the newspaper. “This thing goes in waves, and we’re about to see a huge wave.”

quote:

Federal Prosecutors Will Go After Washington And Colorado Marijuana Distributors

quote:

Federal prosecutors will crack down on recreational marijuana dispensaries and growers even in states where they are legal, U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske told a Canadian news magazine this week. The statement appears to be the first from a federal official to state explicitly that the federal government will prosecute dispensaries and producers once they are licensed in Washington and Colorado. During an interview on 20/20, President Obama told Barbara Walters only that the federal government has “bigger fish to fry” than going after recreational users, but did not address those who produce or distribute marijuana. MacLean’s reports:

quote:

Peru Plans to Reduce Coca Production First Time in Eight Years

Peru plans to destroy coca bushes this year at a faster pace than growers expand output as the government seeks to curtail cultivation that has expanded for six straight years.

The government will eradicate a record 22,000 hectares (54,363 acres) of coca plants this year, which will reduce the size of the crop by 6 percent, Carmen Masias, the nation’s drug czar, told reporters in Lima.

Peru’s cultivation of the plant used to make cocaine increased 2 percent to 62,500 hectares in 2011, according to the United Nations, even after the government removed about 10,000 hectares of bushes. The Andean nation, which previously relied solely on foreign aid to finance eradication, will contribute 40 percent of this year’s $30 million budget to expand the program, Masias said. Total spending on the drug fight will rise 16 percent to $278 million.

“Eradication is completely indispensable but must go hand in hand with development” of alternative crops, such as cocoa and palm oil, Masias said. The U.S. government, the main source of drugs aid to Peru, agreed last year to provide $135 million through 2017 for alternative development, she said.

President Ollanta Humala’s government removed about 14,000 hectares of coca bushes last year, 40 percent more than in 2011, to slow growth in a crop that the United Nations says now rivals Colombia’s as the world’s largest.

The drive to curtail cultivation will be extended to the valley of the Apurimac, Ene and Mantaro Rivers, an area of jungle in the south of the country where holdout members of the Shining Path, a Maoist insurgency group, are active, Masias said.

The government is also removing coca bushes for the first time in the Monzon valley in northern Peru, where the crop has been grown for the drug trade for 80 years, she said.

quote:

Gangster Bankers: Too Big to Jail

How HSBC hooked up with drug traffickers and terrorists. And got away with it

quote:

The deal was announced quietly, just before the holidays, almost like the government was hoping people were too busy hanging stockings by the fireplace to notice. Flooring politicians, lawyers and investigators all over the world, the U.S. Justice Department granted a total walk to executives of the British-based bank HSBC for the largest drug-and-terrorism money-laundering case ever. Yes, they issued a fine – $1.9 billion, or about five weeks' profit – but they didn't extract so much as one dollar or one day in jail from any individual, despite a decade of stupefying abuses.

People may have outrage fatigue about Wall Street, and more stories about billionaire greedheads getting away with more stealing often cease to amaze. But the HSBC case went miles beyond the usual paper-pushing, keypad-punching­ sort-of crime, committed by geeks in ties, normally associated­ with Wall Street. In this case, the bank literally got away with murder – well, aiding and abetting it, anyway.

quote:

That nobody from the bank went to jail or paid a dollar in individual fines is nothing new in this era of financial crisis. What is different about this settlement is that the Justice Department, for the first time, admitted why it decided to go soft on this particular kind of criminal. It was worried that anything more than a wrist slap for HSBC might undermine the world economy. "Had the U.S. authorities decided to press criminal charges," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer at a press conference to announce the settlement, "HSBC would almost certainly have lost its banking license in the U.S., the future of the institution would have been under threat and the entire banking system would have been destabilized."

quote:

Police chief of Mexico border city is missing

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The police chief of the violent Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo is missing, authorities said Monday.

Tamaulipas state prosecutors said they have opened an investigation into the whereabouts of Roberto Balmori Garza, police chief of the city across the border from Laredo, Texas.

Tamaulipas prosecutors said in a brief statement that state officials in Nuevo Laredo will be in charge of the investigation.

Local media reported that two of Balmori Garza's brothers were found shot dead Sunday inside the trunk of a car in the neighboring state of Nuevo Leon. One of his brothers was a federal investigator, media reported.

Tamaulipas prosecutors' spokesman Ruben Dario said Balmori Garza disappeared over the weekend. He said he couldn't give any other information on the case or confirm the media reports of the death of Balmori Garza's brothers.

Nuevo Laredo, a stronghold of the Zetas drug cartel, has been the scene of bloody drug-gang turf battles since the beginning of the year.

Two years ago, gunmen killed a retired army general who had been police chief of Nuevo Laredo for a month. Two of his bodyguards also were slain and two suffered wounds.

The Zetas, known for its viciousness, has been fighting its former ally, the Gulf cartel, in Mexico's northeast since early 2010.

quote:

Mexican drug cartels penetrate southern Europe

BRUSSELS – One of Mexico’s largest and most dangerous drug cartels has expanded its activities throughout the world, including Spain, Italy and the Western Balkans.

“The reach of drug trafficking cartels, in particular the Sinaloa cartel, is one that is frankly global,” said the US deputy assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, Brian Nichols, on Thursday (8 November) in Brussels.

American media cite the cartels as reaping billions in profits from hubs stationed only in and around the United States.

But the Sinaloa cartel retains a special status.

In 2010, it allegedly infiltrated the Mexican government, placing informants to secure territory inside the country and to take out rivals. Some, working in conjunction with local crime lords, have already been arrested in Spain and in Italy.

Speaking to journalists in Brussels, Nichols said the cartel is principally interested in moving cocaine but also has interest in marijuana, methamphetamines and ecstasy.

“In terms of their presence in southern Europe, I think they are looking for an entry point, they are looking for markets where they can move their products,” said Nichols.

The globalised nature of the drug cartels has pushed national enforcement authorities to work closer together.

Nichols said the US is engaged with the Dutch and the UK in the Caribbean. Agents from Italy, Spain and the UK in Central America are working closely with US rule of law and counter-narcotic experts to investigate and crack down on the networks.

“Most of the leads we follow up on in Europe are developed in the Americas, whether it’s Mexico or Columbia or Peru,” said Nichols.

The Mexicans are not the only ones with an acute business interest in the Western Balkans. Colombians and Peruvians are also making in-roads.

“People in Western Balkans are talking to their suppliers in Mexico, in South America,” said Nichols.

The joint efforts of crime fighting units from across the globe is a relatively new phenomenon.

South American countries, for instance, are partnering investigations in the Western Balkans and sharing their knowledge and intelligence. “[It] previously is not something you would have seen,” said Nichols.

EU secret police

But in Europe, some elusive cross-border investigations and police networks have been in place for at least two decades.

An inquiry by a handful of members from the left-leaning group in Germany’s Bundestag received some insight into activities over the summer after pressing the government for information for over two years.

According to their research, the Dutch launched an International Working Group on Police Undercover Activities (IWG) in 1989. The group has grown.

Agents from all around Europe allegedly meet to exchange experience on all matters related to the covert deployment of police officers.

A source familiar with the group told the deputies that one such meeting in 2007 included “police authority representatives from European states, as well as from Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA.”

Germany’s federal government told the deputies in May that its own foreign agents are carefully selected and take on considerable risks “that put their lives and health in danger.”

German officials also stated they rely on the dedication and specialist expertise of the agents when it comes to combating the most serious of crimes like human trafficking, with some organised crime syndicates or networks are involved in murder and kidnappings.

“[This] can only be opposed effectively by the German state if there are such officers who express a willingness to undertake covert operations,” the federal government told the deputies.

quote:

Man zwaargewond door meerdere politiekogels bij drugsactie

quote:

De man sloeg op de vlucht na een geplande drugsactie van de politie. Toen hij er in zijn auto vandoor ging, zette de politie met de nodige wagens de achtervolging in. Op de rotonde bij de Merwedelaan en Rijnstraat ramde de man een andere auto. De inzittenden daarvan raakten niet gewond.