Eco-Trafficking
Brief /
Environmental Fines Become Flashpoint for Brazil’s Deforestation Crisis
The abandonment of environmental fines for illegal deforestation in Brazil is leading to a political scandal, with a cabinet minister potentially being removed from...
Brief /
Venezuela’s Birds Smuggled to Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Beyond
Shocking images of dead birds floating in the Caribbean have exposed a thriving illegal wildlife trade between Venezuela and Trinidad and...
Brief /
Coronavirus Has Not Slowed Looting of Latin America’s Maritime Species
The pace of eco-trafficking in Latin America does not appear to have slowed under the coronavirus pandemic, with the smuggling of maritime species being...
Analysis /
3 Reasons Why US is Epicenter for Big Cat Breeding, Trading
Netflix’s “Tiger King” fixated our gaze on the outlandish antics of Exotic Joe, but if you squint your eyes in just the right way, you could catch a glimpse...
Brief /
Ex-FARC Mafia Drives Park Rangers Out of Colombia’s Amazon
After receiving threats, park rangers in Colombia have abandoned areas of the Amazon that they were protecting. Now these territories could fall increasingly under...
Analysis /
Songbirds to Raptor Eggs, the Looting of Latin America’s Bird Species
The case of an infamous Irish trafficker who is facing extradition to Brazil for stealing peregrine falcon eggs has brought attention to the diverse ways in which...
Brief /
Butterflies, Beetles and Spiders: Costa Rica’s Smaller Eco-trafficking Targets
While eco-trafficking in Costa Rica has largely been associated with turtles, recent raids have shown how its butterflies, beetles, wasps and spiders can also fetch...
Brief /
Illegal Fishing Threatens Food Security in Bolívar, Colombia
Destruction of wildlife spurred by illegal fishing in the Ciénaga de Simití swampland in the northern Colombia department of Bolívar has sparked a full-blown...
Analysis /
How Drug Traffickers Became Masters of Honduras’ Forests
Illegal timber and drug trafficking are closely linked in northeastern Honduras, a major cocaine corridor in this region. There, criminal groups have savvily...
Brief /
Bolivia Forestry Officials Profit from Harvest of Illegal Wood
Officials within the agency entrusted with protecting Bolivia's forests falsified data and provided documents legitimizing the illegal harvesting of timber, a...
Analysis /
Report Finds Peru Timber Trade Taken Over by Criminal Networks
A new report offering a detailed statistical breakdown of Peru’s timber trade exposes the staggering levels of illegality that have contaminated the country’s...
Analysis /
Can Crocodile and Turtle Farms Reduce Mexico’s Eco-Trafficking?
Government-regulated crocodile and turtle farms have helped reduce illegal hunting and protect endangered species, but the illicit trade...