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US threatens to halt intel sharing in Mexican drug row
Washington (AFP) - The US Justice Department on Saturday threatened to end law enforcement cooperation with Mexico after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador accused American authorities of fabricating drug trafficking evidence against a former Mexican defense chief. "The United States Department of Justice fully stands by its investigation" of Salvador Cienfuegos, a department spokesperson said, saying that investigation materials released by Mexico on the case were "not fabricated." Mexico's publicizing of investigation materials, the department added, violated an agreement between the two ...
AFP
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Mexico accuses DEA of fabricating ex-defense chief crimes
Mexico City (AFP) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday accused the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of fabricating crimes in the case of a former defense minister whose arrest sparked diplomatic tensions. The detention of Salvador Cienfuegos at a Los Angeles airport in October had surprised and irritated the Mexican government, which successfully pushed for him to be sent home to face possible prosecution. Lopez Obrador said he supported Mexican prosecutors' decision to take no action over "the accusation that was fabricated against General Cienfuegos by the US age...
AFP
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US-Mexico drug war ripe for rethink under Biden, experts say
Mexico City (AFP) - President-elect Joe Biden's arrival in the White House is expected to bring a shake-up of US-Mexican cooperation in a bloody war on drugs that has failed to rein in powerful cartels, experts say. Mexico has seen more than 300,000 murders since deploying the military in the anti-narcotics fight in 2006, most of them blamed on criminal gangs, while drugs continue to flood across its northern border. Outgoing US President Donald Trump has been a staunch supporter of tough action against the drug lords, calling for a "war" on the cartels. Biden's Democrats, however, "are more c...
AFP
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Mexico unveils tribute to Mormon massacre victims
Mexico City (AFP) - Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday inaugurated a monument in honor of nine Mormon women and children killed in a massacre last year in the country's north. Lopez Obrador promised to punish those responsible for the murders as he unveiled a statue paying tribute to the victims in Bavispe in Sonora state. "This memorial will be a permanent tribute to the victims... We have arrested those responsible for this crime and we're going to keep going until the whole truth is known and justice served," Lopez Obrador told members of the Mormon community present. ...
AFP
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Overdose deaths in US rise during Covid-19
Washington (AFP) - The Covid-19 pandemic has fuelled a rise in fatal drug overdoses in the United States, officials said Thursday, stressing that essential medical services have to remain accessible despite coronavirus disruptions. More than 81,000 drug overdose deaths were recorded in the US in the year to May, the highest number ever in a 12-month period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It said the latest data showed an acceleration of overdose deaths since the pandemic took hold at the start of the year. "The disruption to daily life due to the COVID-19 pa...
AFP
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US House backs decriminalizing cannabis in historic vote
Washington (AFP) - US House legislators voted for the first time Friday to decriminalize cannabis, a key step towards bringing federal laws in line with states and other countries that have freed up use of the drug. The House of Representatives, controlled by Democrats, easily passed the bill by 228 votes to 164. It stands little chance however in the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. The bill would remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act, which listed it beside heroin and cocaine as a dangerous narcotic and mandated tough penalties. The drug's inclusion on the li...
AFP
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Canada blocks certain drug exports in response to US plan
Montreal (AFP) - Canada announced Saturday a ban on exporting certain medicines that are or may soon be in short supply, a measure in response to a US plan to import drugs from its northern neighbor.The plan promoted by outgoing US President Donald Trump aimed at allowing pharmacists and wholesalers to import certain prescription drugs in bulk from Canada takes effect on Monday.The US plan is intended to lower prices for Americans, but comes at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has increased demand for some medicines.Canada's ban took effect on Friday, its health ministry said, and is intended...
AFP
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US drops drug charges against former Mexican defense minister
New York (AFP) - US authorities have dropped drug trafficking and money laundering charges against a former Mexican defense minister who was sent back to face a criminal probe in his home country.Salvador Cienfuegos was accused of conspiring to produce and distribute "thousands of kilograms" of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana in the US over a period of more than a year.The retired general denied the charges -- which date to when he was a key figure in President Enrique Pena Nieto's 2012-2018 administration -- but faced a possible life sentence if convicted.Court authorities in N...
AFP
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Oregon becomes first US state to decriminalize hard drugs
Los Angeles (AFP) - Oregon on Tuesday became the first US state to decriminalize hard drugs, including the possession of small amounts of heroin and cocaine, and to legalize access to "magic mushrooms" for therapeutic use.Some other states, including Arizona and Montana, meanwhile appeared poised in early results to legalize recreational marijuana in line with a trend sweeping the country in recent years.A ballot initiative in favor of decriminalizing a range of psychedelics was also approved in the nation's capital, Washington DC, the fourth jurisdiction to enact the reform.Votes on those mea...
AFP
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US authorities announce record meth seizure
Los Angeles (AFP) - US authorities on Wednesday announced a record-breaking seizure of methamphetamine, displaying 2,224 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of the drug recovered earlier this month in California along with cocaine and heroin."This is enough dope to prove a dose of meth for every man, women and child in the United States and Mexico," Timothy Shea, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), told reporters at a warehouse in Montebello, near Los Angeles, as he stood in front of a 10-foot (three meters) pyramid comprised of the contraband."Study after study shows that...
AFP