Drug Trade News

The last thing on the minds of those who conduct their business on Mexico’s border with Guatemala is that cattle may be driving the destruction of the Lacandon Jungle, which…

Mexican conservationists are alarmed over Trump's wall, with the loss of connectivity threatening already stressed bison, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, bears and other animals.

As Colombia seeks peace with FARC rebels, Trump wants to cut funds for urgently needed social and rural development programs, with a return to aerial spraying and militaristic War on Drugs.

MAGDALENA MEDIO, Colombia – It is a usual hot and humid day at one of the oil palm plantations in Magdalena Medio, Colombia. Beneath the two-story canopy of the plantation,…

(This article is a collaboration between Mongabay-Latam and Colombia’s Semana Sostenible) One cow per hectare. This equivalence summarizes Caquetá’s cattle ranching model, but at the same time defines the dynamics…

MIRAFLORES, Colombia – “We can’t move like we used to,” said Joaquin Dajada, a twenty-something displaced member of the Nukak indigenous community, the last contacted nomadic group in Colombia. “The…

The Guatemalan government declared a 30-day, nationwide state of emergency Tuesday to facilitate efforts to combat and control forest fires. The Maya Biosphere Reserve covering the northernmost fifth of the…

The Guatemalan government issued a red alert for the Peten department Tuesday due to forest fires in national parks inside the Maya Biosphere Reserve. The biosphere reserve covers the northernmost…

The illicit cultivation of coca leaf in Colombia grew by 39 percent between 2014 and 2015, from 69,000 to 96,000 hectares. That’s according to the country’s National Forest and Carbon…

Other stories in Mongabay’s series on the Maya Biosphere Reserve: Killing of Guatemalan activist in the Maya Biosphere Reserve raises alarm Successes and many challenges in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve…

Other stories in Mongabay’s series on the Maya Biosphere Reserve: Killing of Guatemalan activist in the Maya Biosphere Reserve raises alarm Successes and many challenges in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve…

Other stories in Mongabay’s series on the Maya Biosphere Reserve: Killing of Guatemalan activist in the Maya Biosphere Reserve raises alarm Communities lead the way in rainforest conservation in Guatemala…

A new airstrip recently identified in a national park in Peru indicates that deforestation stemming from the country’s coca cultivation is continuing to take a serious toll on the area’s primary forest.

Environmentalist Jairo Mora Sandoval on the beach with fellow WIDECAST volunteers. Photo by: Christine Figgener/Creative Commons 3.0. Yesterday, the seven men accused of brutally murdering Jairo Mora Sandoval on a…

Conservation conundrum: indigenous territories or government protected areas Indigenous communities claim—and scientific evidence increasingly shows—that indigenous forested territories are as well protected as, or better protected than, government-designated parks. In…

Regional conservation area safeguards subsistence and spirituality in the Peruvian Amazon For Alfredo Rojas, the history of the remote villages along the Ampiyacu River is one of enslavement. Growing up…

Poisoned by cattle carcasses treated with Diclofenac, India’s vultures died by the millions in the 1990s. A captive breeding program is helping to save the once-ubiquitous birds, but the very…

In 2006, Mexico intensified its security strategy, forming an inhospitable environment for drug trafficking organizations (also known as DTOs) within the nation. The drug cartels responded by creating new trade…

An interview with Christopher Jordan, a part of our on-going Interviews with Young Scientists series. Baird's tapir caught on camera trap in Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast. Photo courtesy of: Christopher Jordan.…

The world’s highest deforestation rate, the execution of eight environmental activists including a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and ongoing turmoil surrounding oil operations in the Niger River Delta has created…