kidnapping
Chile grapples with transnational criminal organizations targeting migrants and locals
More than 7 million Venezuelans have left their homeland since 2015 amid ongoing economic and political crises in their country. And with ineffective border security, criminal gangs are increasing their efforts to take advantage of the migrants.
America’s policy on hostages may have cost the life of James Foley
A would-be defector from ISIS says he offered to help return hostage James Foley in exchange for asylum and cash long before Foley’s death. But the government reportedly refused to negotiate, highlighting what critics say is a confusing and counterproductive policy on captured Americans.
How the Taliban took control of organized crime in Pakistan’s largest city
In Pakistan, the struggle against the local version of the Taliban is spreading, and not just in terms of terrorism. The group has muscled its way into the crime scene in Karachi, Pakistan, a booming city with lucrative opportunities in things like kidnapping and extortion.
This American reporter survived a botched kidnapping in Yemen
After 11 years of traveling to and writing about Yemen, American journalist and scholar Gregory Johnsen was nearly kidnapped there earlier this year. He says it’s a sign of how much more dangerous and unforgiving the country has become for Americans.
‘If they are going to kill us, let them kill us for a just cause,’ say Mexican citizens
Iguala, Mexico is a place that’s hostile to outsiders and heavily controlled by drug cartels. That makes it an extremely difficult — and dangerous — place to look for the 43 missing students who were allegedly abducted by the local police force.