Where the rule of law ends, organized crime begins. Sociedad Media covers the cartels, criminal networks, and security alliances reshaping Latin America — and the democracies fighting to survive them. From the CJNG’s post-Mencho power struggle to Ecuador‘s U.S.-backed military operations, we report on the forces threatening the hemisphere’s fragile democratic order
Colombia’s offensive widens with killings of cartel leader “Bendito Menor” & girlfriend in Riohacha, plus seven FARC dissidents in Nariño — as a top general reveals senior guerrilla leadership sheltering in Venezuela
In three weeks, Colombia’s de la Espriella has overseen the deaths of four senior FARC dissident commanders, warning Iván Mordisco directly: “A bomb is going to fall on you”
In under a month, Mexican forces kill “R5” & capture predecessor “Poncho la Quiringua,” eliminating both top leaders of the Cártel de Los Reyes following Michoacán’s August avocado upheaval
Joint U.S.-Cambodia operation exposes cryptocurrency laundering network for Sinaloa Cartel, raiding drug labs in Phnom Penh while U.S. authorities separately seized $7 million in crypto in New Jersey
Sheinbaum reveals her government initially planned to skip DEA-organized security conference in Argentina before unanimous cabinet vote sent security chief — framing it as “coordination without subordination”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told coalition partners in Panama the U.S. is extending lethal boat-strike campaign onto land, saying it will have “the same effect” as boat strikes that killed over 200 suspected traffickers
SOUTHCOM’s Panama forum drew 19 nations, with the U.S. calling for “total systemic friction” against cartels — showcasing Peru’s swift move to join the Shield of the Americas while Colombia’s membership remains murkier
As de la Espriella takes office vowing “no peace processes,” his government transfers 117 high-profile inmates to maximum-security prisons on inauguration day, while Washington announced a $1 billion security package
Spanish & French police dismantle CJNG cell in Catalonia, seizing 2.5 tons of methamphetamine smuggled from Mexico dissolved in liquid vanilla flavoring — one of Europe’s largest busts of its kind
Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, “Tony Montana,” brother of the late CJNG founder El Mencho, pleaded guilty in Washington to trafficking over 450 kilos of cocaine and 45 kilos of meth — closing out two decades as the cartel’s chief financial operator
Chile’s largest drug bust ever — 108 tons of cocaine allegedly impregnated into Bolivian timber — is now disputed: Bolivia claims its own tests found no drugs and wants the cargo released
Renewed fighting between the ELN and FARC dissidents in Colombia's Catatumbo region has once again confined residents, damaged water infrastructure, and forced the cancellation of independence-day events in Tibú
