A sharp rise in Venezuelan cocaine trafficking undermines U.S. efforts to crack down on the narcotics trade in neighboring Colombia.

Weakly governed and close to lucrative European markets, West African states are emerging as illicit transit hubs for drugs and people.

Amid a widening scandal over links between his government and paramilitary violence, President Alvaro Uribe proposes a new anti-drug strategy that favors development over military force.

President Felipe Calderon has shifted the tone of U.S.-Mexico relations. But during Bush's visit he made clear he still seeks comprehensive immigration reform.  

Afghanistan has long been the world’s chief supplier of opium. Yet poppy cultivation, much of which goes to finance Taliban insurgents, may jeopardize U.S.-led efforts to secure southern parts of the country.

Under the security cooperation agreement called the Merida Initiative, the United States provides military and law enforcement assistance to the Mexican government in support of efforts to combat drug cartels and organized crime. The United States and Mexico jointly developed this agreement in response to a substantial increase in drug-related criminal activity and violence on both sides of the border.

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By refocusing from more militarized bilateral security assistance to institution building, Mexico and the United States can work together to strengthen the rule of law, to the benefit of both countries.

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Listen to experts discuss organized crime including the circumstances under which criminal activities constitute a threat to national security.

This session was part of the CFR symposium, Organized Crime in the Western Hemisphere: An Overlooked Threat?, undertaken in collaboration with the Latin American Program and Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and made possible by the generous support of the Hauser Foundation, Tinker Foundation, and a grant from the Robina Foundation for CFR's International Institutions and Global Governance program.

Listen to the mayor of Nuevo Laredo and the former Colombian foreign minister discuss steps Mexico and Colombia are taking to control organized crime in their countries.

This session was part of the CFR symposium, Organized Crime in the Western Hemisphere: An Overlooked Threat?, undertaken in collaboration with the Latin American Program and Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and made possible by the generous support of the Hauser Foundation, Tinker Foundation,  and a grant from the Robina Foundation for CFR's International Institutions and Global Governance program.

Listen to experts analyze the greater roles regional and multilateral organizations, such as the Organization of American States and the United Nations, can play in controlling organized crime.

This session was part of the CFR symposium, Organized Crime in the Western Hemisphere: An Overlooked Threat?, undertaken in collaboration with the Latin American Program and Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and made possible by the generous support of the Hauser Foundation, Tinker Foundation, and a grant from the Robina Foundation for CFR's International Institutions and Global Governance program.

Listen to experts separate reality from rhetoric and discuss the goals of the upcoming Fifth Summit of the Americas, which is themed "Securing Our Citizens’ Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability."

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was hailed for his plan to demobilize the country’s paramilitaries, but observers warn the groups are reforming under a different guise.

International efforts have helped reduce the number of Afghan provinces growing opium poppies. But CFR's George Gavrilis says the drug trade continues to flourish, requiring broader counternarcotics efforts.

Romesh Bhattacharji, a South Asian counternarcotics expert, says India’s success with legal poppy growing though an international licensing program could be replicated in Afghanistan.

Transforming Afghanistan's opium farming from heroin to morphine production would thwart the Taliban and stabilize the economy, writes Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York.

As violence soars, so do voices of dissent against drug prohibition, notes this Economist piece.

Susana Seijas chronicles the Mexican government's history with certain notorious narcotics traffickers.

The U.S. State Department has released its 2007 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has issued a new report on North Korea's Crime-for-Profit activities (PDF).

The White House's Office of Drug Control Policy has released its estimate of Afghan poppy cultivation.