Global Ganja Report

The Andean nation's indigenous people have long resented the U.S. beverage company for usurping the name of their sacred coca leaf. Now, they are aiming to take back their heritage. Recently, the government of Evo Morales announced that it would support a plan to produce a coca-based soft drink which would rival its fizzy American counterpart.

National Public Radio on May 18 adds to the widespread speculation that the Mexican government is tilting to the Sinaloa Cartel in the country's increasingly violent narco wars. Reporting from Ciudad Juárez, where President Felipe Calderón has deployed 10,000 army troops and federal police, NPR "finds strong evidence that Mexico's drug fight is rigged," citing court testimony, current and former law enforcement officials, and an analysis of cartel arrests.

The Jamaican government has agreed extradite to the US the accused leader of the notorious Shower Posse drug gang, Christopher "Dudus" Coke. Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s controversial decision reverses months of opposition to his extradition. Coke will be sent to New York to face drug and gun trafficking charges.

At least six people were killed—three of Serbian nationality and three Bolivians—and one was kidnapped in an assault perpetrated by suspected drug traffickers in Bolivia's eastern department of Santa Cruz on May 15. The victims were stopped at a false police checkpoint and were tied up, tortured and executed, authorities said.

New York State Sen. George H. Winner Jr. (R-Elmira) plans to renew efforts to pass legislation creating a state-level drug dealer registry that would require convicted felony drug convicts to register with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services for up to 10 years. The effort was prompted by several high profile felony drug arrests across the state's Southern Tier, along with input from local law enforcement officials, Winner said. The registry would be similar to one that is already in place for convicted sex offenders.

On May 11, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP, or "Drug Czar" office) released its 2010 National Drug Control Strategy, marking a shift of emphasis from law enforcement to treatment and prevention—compared to the enforcement-centered strategy of the Bush administration.

In a case sensationalized by the Bolivian press as a crackdown on a "Norwegian Cartel," a Bolivian national was sentenced to 20 years last month, and two Norwegians to 13 years each on charges of attempting to smuggle 22 kilos of cocaine out of the country. The defendants, all in their 20s, were arrested in May 2008 with cocaine hidden in their backpacks. Bolivian authorities say they were recruited by crime bosses in Norway, with promises of luxury vacations as well as payments of $1,500. (World War 4 Report, May 10)

Mario Ernesto Villanueva Madrid, ex-governor of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, was extradited to the US on May 10 to face charges of accepting some $20 millions in bribes from the notorious Juárez Cartel in exchange for allowing in the transport of over 200 tons of cocaine through his state towards North American markets. US prosecutors say the money was laundered through accounts at Lehman Brothers in New York. Appearing in federal court in New York the day of his extradition, Villanueva pleaded not guilty to all charges.