Latin American Drug Traffickers Set Up Shop Across Africa

Hunted from Argentina to Mexico, narco cartels are moving operations across the Atlantic to Africa, anti-crime agencies said.

Mexican soldiers stand guard near burning vehicles on a street during an operation to arrest Ovidio Guzmán, son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, in Sinaloa state, Mexico, on Jan. 5, 2023. Juan Carlos Cruz/ AFP via Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG—In late July, a squad from South Africa’s elite law enforcement agency, The Hawks, carried out a midday raid on an arid farm near a town in the country’s remote northeast region.

“We found an industrial-scale lab and 408 kilograms [about 899 pounds] of crystal meth and related chemicals, with an estimated value of 2 billion rands [almost $114 million],” Col. Katlego Matlego, spokesperson for The Hawks, told The Epoch Times.