Illegal drug trade

May 5, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Jordanian Warplanes Strike Drug Traffickers in Southern Syria, Where Damascus Exerts Little Control

In an operation codenamed “Jordanian Deterrence,” Amman’s fighter jets carried out strikes on at least five separate locations in the Syrian governorate of Suwayda on May 2, targeting “sites belonging...

April 24, 2026 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Syria thwarts Hezbollah plot, vows at UN to fight terrorist groups

The Syrian Interior Ministry and General Intelligence Service thwarted a plot by a Hezbollah cell, Syrian state media reported on April 19. Four days later, Syria’s permanent representative...

August 2, 2025 | Natalie Ecanow, Bridget Toomey

The Houthis Are Breaking into the Drug Trade

The captagon trade has spread from Syria to Yemen, bankrolling Houthi terrorism. Washington should pay attention.

April 9, 2024 | Elaine K. Dezenski |

Opaque Shell Companies

A Risk to National Security, Public Health, and Rule of Law

October 21, 2023 | |

Hamas Killers in Israel Reportedly Fueled by Captagon

Israeli media reported on October 19 that Hamas terrorists were fueled by the amphetamine-like drug captagon as they rampaged through southern Israel on October 7. The pills were...

December 17, 2021 | Emanuele Ottolenghi |

Paraguayan Raids Further Expose U.S. Intermediaries’ Role in TBA Money Laundering Schemes

Paraguayan authorities last week raided the offices of a dozen U.S.-linked companies and their accountants tied to suspected Paraguayan drug kingpin Reinaldo Javier Cabaña Santacruz, alias Cucho. Asunción’s...

June 15, 2018 | Emanuele Ottolenghi |

Lebanon Is Protecting Hezbollah’s Cocaine Trade in Latin America

Days after the Trump administration withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, Washington ramped up ...