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World map of organized crime have profoundly changed in 25 years

  Since the death of Italian anti-Mafia magistrate Giovanni Falcone 20 years ago, how much has organized crime spread internationally? The trans-continental dimensions of the Sicilian Mafia, Cosa Nostra, was already clear to the legendary prosecutor in 1980 when he took up the “Pizza Connection” case against Salvatore Inzerillo and the boss of the Gambino…

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The Transformation Of Columbia : From Narco-State To Tourist Destination

  What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago, Colombia was the Greece of Latin America in the eyes of investors. Young people were desperate to emigrate. The well-off, afraid they’d be kidnapped, avoided traveling between Bogota and Medellin. When they did, it was best to travel the 240 kilometers that separate the two…

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Latin America Gets No Respect

Near Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, the Country Brand Index’s highest ranked Latin American country   Conducting business meetings isn’t easy when people don’t even know you exist. Just ask Eduardo Clari, an investments specialist.  Paraguay’s state export and investment promotion agency. “They confuse us with Uruguay. Or else they think we’re part of Brazil,” says…

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Desert Rats: Blackwater Eric Prince Training Another Secret Army

Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder Adam Ferguson/VII Network Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, has a new project. By MARK MAZZETTI and EMILY B. HAGER Published: May 14, 2011 ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Late one night last November, a plane carrying dozens of Colombian men touched down in this glittering seaside…

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Narco Smugglers Go Deep With 100 foot Submarine

Soldiers stand on a submarine found hidden in the Ecuadorian jungle. Officials say the vessel is the first of its kind capable of transporting drugs on transoceanic journeys. Law enforcement officials have already had to deal with drug traffickers using an increasing number of semi-submersible vessels, which just barely peeked above the surface of the…