Crime Archive

Last week, a judge in Argentina sent a jolt across the country by ordering the arrest of former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on charges of treason. It was an indictment so powerful that the shock waves must have been felt all the way to Tehran and Beirut. If the government of Iran and the leadership of Hezbollah are not watching events in Buenos Aires very closely, they really should. The case in Argentina has the power not only to bring an ignominious end to the careers of prominent Argentinian figures, but it is sure to put an unwelcome spotlight […]

Despite many years of effort by the United States and its NATO allies to stem opium production in Afghanistan, this year saw a record crop. Drug production is an integral component of Afghanistan’s complex and seemingly intractable problems. Not only does opium directly support the Taliban, which taxes its manufacture and transportation, it also undercuts broader attempts to stem corruption and expand the legal Afghan economy. As often happens in today’s interconnected security environment, Afghanistan’s security issues are not contained within its borders. The transportation of Afghan opium funds extremists across Central Asia and threatens governments in that part of […]