The coronavirus pandemic has triggered an unprecedented chain reaction of border closures around the world. This truly is an extraordinary situation, and many countries have also grappled with lack of information, resources and coordination between relevant agents and authorities. These operational issues have raised questions globally about whether border controls are effective in containing such outbreaks, how prepared border agencies were for the emergency and what this will mean for border management in a post-pandemic world. 

Justice in Mexico has released the second edition of Organized Crime and Violence in Mexico Report, compiling the most recent data and analysis of crime, violence, and rule of law in Mexico.In addition to homicide, the report has expanded the scope of past editions to provide insight regarding trends in crimes such as kidnapping, extortion, and robbery.

Testing for illegal drugs is an ongoing battle. To mitigate the opioid pandemic, rapid detection and identification of illegal drugs is critical for campus safety, police officer and criminal investigators.

The Department of Justice announced awards of more than $333 million to help communities affected by the opioid crisis.

A Border Enforcement Task Force (BEST) team in Baltimore comprised of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized 332 pounds of cocaine in the port of Baltimore.

An organized crime group specialized in money laundering, whose members were active in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Morocco, has been dismantled.

The governments of the United States, Mexico and Guatemala formed a special body to fight drug trafficking and organized crime.

The National Drug Intelligence Center reported there were Mexican drug trafficking organizations active in more than 1,000 U.S. cities, but that depends on your definition of a cartel.