The cocaine market exploded between 2014 and 2023. Production in Colombia increased more than sevenfold to nearly 2,700 tonnes, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Behind the scenes, drug traffickers find equally illicit ways to pay their suppliers and foot soldiers, or to spend the proceeds of their criminal trade. Their solution? Money laundering. It is estimated that 25% of the funds collected is laundered. Criminals generally launder money in three stages: firstly, they inject it into the financial system; secondly, they layer it with…
The Torero
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez. The records viewed by ProPublica list Ochoa, 43, and Gutierrez, 35, as the shooters during the deadly encounter last weekend that left Pretti dead and ignited massive protests and calls for criminal investigations. Both men were assigned to Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement dragnet launched in December that sent scores of armed and masked agents across the city.…
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu faces two new no-confidence motions on Monday, after he forced the 2026 budget through parliament without a vote for the third and final time on Friday. Lecornu’s decision to use the constitutional tool known as article 49.3 has marked an about-face for the prime minister, who pledged last year to seek parliament’s approval, in a bid to avoid the fate of his two predecessors who were ousted over budget negotiations. But after months of negotiations reached an impasse, Lecornu announced he would use the power to…
In January 2026, the death of Renée Good, a mother of three in Minneapolis, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, and the subsequent fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, by federal agents, sparked outrage and protests within the US. Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu of Massachusetts Institute of Technology swiftly diagnosed the malady in a Project Syndicate piece. This could be “a turning point,” he declared. The killings represented “a key distinguishing feature of authoritarian governments” – the ability to deploy excessive force against opponents. The Trump…
Few ideas in global finance generate as much anxiety as de-dollarization. To some Western observers, any attempt to reduce reliance on the US dollar is automatically framed as a political challenge to American power. Yet for much of the developing world, the conversation is far less ideological and far more practical. The push to diversify global payment systems and promote the use of local currencies is not about confrontation; it is a response to economic realities that many countries have lived with for decades. The dominance of the dollar has…
On a rainy Friday afternoon reminiscent of British drizzling weather, the Global Times reporters caught up with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was visiting Shanghai, at around 4:30 pm on Friday in the city’s iconic scenic spot, the Yuyuan Garden. Yuyuan Garden, a classical garden that ranks as one of the must-see attractions in Huangpu district, Shanghai, was among the major stops of Starmer’s Shanghai visit. Starmer arrived in Shanghai on Friday’s afternoon to continue his four-day trip to China and Shanghai is his second stop of the trip. …
The 11 defendants of the northern Myanmar-based Ming family crime syndicate case, who was sentenced to death in September 2025, were executed, CCTV reported Thursday. The defendants organized, led or participated in crimes of the syndicate, their acts constitute more than 10 criminal charges including intentional homicide, intentional injury, illegal detention, fraud and running casinos. The Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court in East China’s Zhejiang Province in September 2025 sentenced the syndicate members Ming Guoping, Ming Zhenzhen, Zhou Weichang, Wu Hongming, Wu Senlong, Fu Yubin and five others to death, along…
As lawmakers convene for this year’s state legislative sessions, immigration has surged to the top of the agenda. Across the country, dozens of bills touching on immigration enforcement, civil rights and the role of federal agents have been introduced this month. The proposals range from measures that would restrict where federal immigration agents can operate, to bills creating new legal pathways for residents to sue those agents, to proposals that would shield agents from having their personal information disclosed publicly. The volume and scope of the legislation reflect growing political…
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump once again turned on the klieg lights by launching a new major international initiative – the “Board of Peace.” Though this multilateral body is supposed to start with managing the post-conflict restoration and future development of the Gaza Strip, many argue that its real goal has a larger scale and might reflect the US president’s ambition to find an efficient alternative to the UN, which he shows no respect for. If the pilot Gaza project turns out to be a success story, this model…
PORTLAND, Ore. — Keith Ellison held up his cellphone. The Minnesota attorney general was onstage in an Oregon theater in front of hundreds of people, accompanied by four of his Democratic peers from other states, to mark a year of coordinated legal strategy to resist the Trump administration’s expansive use of executive power. “Can I just note, real quickly, that we need everybody to use these things?” Ellison said to the audience, which earlier had greeted the out-of-state attorney general with a standing ovation. “They have been remarkably helpful.” Ellison…