Since 2007, Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony and one of the poorest nations in the world, has become the new hub for cocaine trafficking in Africa. Drug cartels from South America and the voracious appetite for cocaine in Europe has transformed this tiny country into a living hell.
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

On March 2 at 5 a.m., President Joao Bernardo Vieira was killed at the order of generals who were trying to make new alliances with drug cartels. According to Interpol, Vieira was personally involved in drug trafficking and was trying to keep his generals at the edge of his business dealings. When they became too eager for power, he started to eliminate them. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

The president was shot to death and slaughtered with a machete in his kitchen. This picture depicts the place where he was killed. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

Minutes after the assassination of Vieira, soldiers looted his home. They stole everything they could: his satellite phone, video sets, clothes and even food. The commandos rummaged through all of the drawers in his bedroom to steal personal documents and family pictures, and ended by destroying the house with machine gun shots. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

The team of soldiers who executed the president. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

During the president's funeral, Guineans gathered by the graveyard, though only a few were crying for the loss. Most were more concerned about the possibility of another civil war. In this picture, a family member of the president mourns. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

Soldiers standing in front of the military headquarters that was blown up by the remote-controlled bomb that killed army chief, General Tagme Na Wai. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

The gun now rules Guinea-Bissau where drug traffickers are heavily armed. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

Guinea-Bissau's poorest neighborhood, Reno, is home to most of the drug traffickers. In the past two years it has also become a locus of crack addiction. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

Since 2007, Guinea-Bissau has become the new hub for cocaine trafficking in Africa. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

Guinea-Bissau doesn't have a designated prison. One of the locations used to imprison criminals is an old colonial house. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

Since 2007, Guinea-Bissau has become the new hub for cocaine trafficking in Africa. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

Local drug traffickers have successfully organized a strong criminal network in Bissau. Over the last two years, abductions, murders and threats have gradually became normal practice. In this picture, an account is settled between drug dealers. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

Two Nigerians affiliated with a Guinean drug trafficking ring prepare capsules containing cocaine that will be swallowed and then smuggled into Europe. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

Since 2007, Guinea-Bissau has become the new hub for cocaine trafficking in Africa. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

This sounds like any other crack story, but there's a difference: We are in Guinea-Bissau, a place where crack was totally unknown until traffickers decided three years ago to target this country. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

Prisoners are free to leave the prison from 2 until 6 p.m., but they usually return since they have at least a free daily meal. During my visit, there were three prisoners charged with drug-related crimes, for smuggling capsules of cocaine. Two of them were from Liberia and one from Ghana, and they were all freed. The lack of a penitentiary system is one of the reasons why drug trafficking proliferates in Guinea-Bissau. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]

Since 2007, Guinea-Bissau has become the new hub for cocaine trafficking in Africa. (Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost)
- [Marco Vernaschi/Pulitzer Center/GlobalPost]