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January 12, 2012 15:56
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Mexico's Chapo Guzman named world's most powerful drug trafficker

Government announces nearly 50,000 have died in drug violence over five years.
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This archive photo of drug lord Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman was taken July 10, 1993 at the Almoloya prison in Juarez after he was apprehended by Mexican authorities. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
The US Treasury Department has named notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman the “world’s most powerful drug trafficker,” boosting the evasive cartel leader’s legendary status as the country’s drug wars appear to have killed nearly 50,000 people in five years.
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January 5, 2012 17:11
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Which cartel is king in Mexico?

The Sinaloans and the Zetas have been battling it out, but there's not an easy answer
Zetas arrest 2012 01 05Enlarge
Mexican Army soldiers with Juan Carlos Garza Rodriguez, aka 'El Juanillo', alleged member of the drug cartel 'Los Zetas.' Zetas members keep getting picked up, but is that just because they're so thick on the ground? (YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

The guilty plea of the Tijuana cartel boss in the US on Thursday marked the official waning of that drug network. But it also raised an interesting question: which cartel is now on top?

Benjamin Arellano Felix, now 58, ran the powerful Tijuana Cartel for 16 years before he was arrested in Mexico in 2002, and was extradited to the US 9 years later.

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On Location video: Mexico's oil bandits

March 3, 2011 16:47
Mexican drug cartels are suspected of running large oil-stealing operations.

On Location: Ixtepec — Ruthless kidnappings on the migrant train

Ioan Grillo and John DickieApril 11, 2011 05:53
IXTEPEC — Last year there were 20,000 kidnappings of migrants trying to make their way across Mexico to the United States.

On Location: Mexico City — Legalizing pot?

January 21, 2011 07:22
A growing chorus of Mexicans, weary of the drug-war's death toll, want to legalize the production and sale of marijuana.

In-Depth Series: Narconomics

December 27, 2011 14:31
It's a multi-billion dollar enterprise, but only the bad guys reap the profits. This is the business of Mexico's drug war.

Confronting crack in Costa Rica

December 27, 2011 07:00
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SAN JOSE — Carballo is visibly disfigured. Thugs chopped a chunk off his left ear and gouged 19 teeth out of his mouth. 

In Costa Rica, the Ticos get tough

December 27, 2011 07:00
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SAN JOSE — After a decade of escalating violent crime, and amid an ongoing row with neighboring Nicaragua, are the “Ticos” — as the Costa Ricans call themselves, in a self-effacing habit — losing their peaceful way? 

Fear and money laundering in Costa Rica

December 27, 2011 07:00
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SAN JOSE — Law enforcement officials say laundering is par for the course in this country, which has fallen into the crosshairs of flush drug cartels seeking not just trafficking routes but places to stash illicit cash.  

For Costa Rica, a “menace” like no other

December 27, 2011 07:00
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SAN JOSE — The fight against the cartels has dealt a major blow to Costa Rica. "I couldn't say that we are winning the battle," Chinchilla said.
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