Tag Archives: Drug smuggling

Ecuador’s Right-Wing President Dissolves Congress to ‘Stave Off Impeachment’

The head of the Andean nation’s largest Indigenous rights group accused President Guillermo Lasso of launching a “cowardly self-coup” and pushing the country toward an “imminent dictatorship.”

By Brett Wilkins. Published 5-17-2023 by Common Dreams

Guillermo Lasso’s inauguration in 2021 Photo: Asamblea Nacional del Ecuador/flickr/CC

Days before Ecuadorian lawmakers were expected to vote on removing him from office, Guillermo Lasso, Ecuador’s deeply unpopular right-wing president, dissolved the country’s National Assembly, a move progressive critics called a bid to avoid impeachment.

For the first time ever, Lasso invoked Article 148 of the Ecuadorian Constitution, which gives presidents the power to dissolve the legislature under certain circumstances, including legislative overreach and a “severe political crisis and domestic unrest.”

Continue reading
Share Button

Why reporting from the Amazon has become so dangerous

The discovery of two bodies believed to be those of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira highlights risks facing journalists in the region

By Pablo Albarenga and Francesc Badia I Dalmases  Published 6-15-2022 by openDemocracy

Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira on Amazon expedition in 2018 Screenshot: The Guardian

Reporting from the Amazon, as we can both attest, is fraught with danger at every corner.

While leaving Indigenous territory on one of our recent reporting trips, we were stopped at gunpoint by military police. Officers searched our bags and personal belongings while firing questions at us. Continue reading

Share Button

The US Just Seized a Ship Owned by JP Morgan That Had $1.3 Billion in Cocaine on It

A container ship owned by JP Morgan has been seized after authorities discovered over $1 billion dollars worth of cocaine on the vessel.

By S.M. Gibson. Published 7-10-2019 by The Mind Unleashed

A container ship owned by JP Morgan has been seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Philadelphia weeks after authorities discovered over $1 billion dollars worth of cocaine on the vessel.

On June 17, U.S. Customs and Homeland Security led a multi-agency effort which detected inconsistencies in seven shipping containers and confiscated 39,525 pounds of cocaine. The cocaine has a street value of approximately $1.3 billion. Continue reading

Share Button

Feds Helped Hide Investigation into Big Bank’s Money Laundering for Drug Cartels

By Carey Wedler. Published 2-2-2016 by The Anti-Media

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

A federal judge ruled last week that the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) will be forced to share a report on its business practices with the public — a decision both the bank and the Department of Justice (DOJ) fought in court to prevent. The report is based on the findings of an ongoing government audit of the bank initiated amid revelations in 2012, that it laundered money for drug cartels and terrorist organizations.

When HSBC’s sordid dealings were discovered in 2012, the DOJ declined to press charges, arguing the bank was too important to prosecute. As the Guardian reported at the time, Assistant Attorney General Larry Breuer argued “the Justice Department had looked at the ‘collateral consequences’ to prosecuting the HSBC or taking away its US banking license. Such a move could have cost thousands of jobs, he said.” Continue reading

Share Button

How To Buy The Senate

Last Thursday, six days before the elections here in the US, a story broke that completely slipped underneath the radar of the national media. While that in itself isn’t surprising considering our media’s proven track record in ignoring important stories, we’re really surprised that this one didn’t make headlines.

Last August, Colombian inspectors found 40 kilos of cocaine aboard the Ping May, a cargo vessel that was about to sail to Europe. While this is a fairly common occurrence these days, the ownership of the vessel is what makes this newsworthy. The vessel is owned by the Foremost Maritime Corporation. Foremost was founded and is owned by James Chao. Who is James Chao? He’s the father-in-law of the man who will more than likely be the next Senate Majority Leader; Mitch McConnell. Continue reading

Share Button