On millionaires’ row in Herat, elaborate palaces are being built by businessmen who have made fortunes from exploiting the needs of the new Afghanistan – or selling heroin. A heady mix of Iranian, Italian and Gulf influe…
Pharmaceuticals giants Roche and Novartis are both based in Basel, where they turn in billion- euro profits every year. But now their hard-fought commercial struggle is being matched by an architectural rivalry that will…
The Tajik-Afghan border is one of the most dangerous in the world because of its central role in the heroin trade and potential as a smuggling route for WMDs. Can it ever be tamed? Well, the US, Iran, the EU and China are…
The seemingly innocuous Paraguayan city of Pedro Juan Caballero, perched on the border with Brazil, is one of the region’s drugs capitals. Monocle meets the team charged with leading the fightback.
Since 2007, the Colombian government has made over €50m from the sale of property confiscated from busted drug barons. And there are currently an estimated 1,200 buildings waiting to be sold. Plus a large collection of…
As Colombia looks to expand business ties with Asia, the country's principal port town of Buenaventura has huge economic potential. But its Pacific waterways are also a major transit for drug smugglers, bringing a new set…
The to-do list of Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, a look at the region's upcoming elections, new heights in New York and a politician to watch in Brazil.
In 2007, the Brazilian government launched a crack down on the drug gangs in Rio’s slums and thousands were killed. Now the city’s civil police have a new weapon: the ‘Huey II’ helicopter gunship. Monocle looks at the use…
In the 1980s the only deals being done in Cartagena were for cocaine. Now the drugs barons have been kicked out and the property kings are moving in to one of Latin America’s most promising cities.
Cocaine consumption in the US is responsible for much of the violence that takes place in its ‘backyard’. But if demand were to suddenly plummet, would the criminal gangs and middlemen simply find another racket?
Costa Rica's first female president gets the once over in our Style Leader. Plus our Washington correspondent reports on how big business and political campaigns in the US don't always make good bedfellows.
Since the War in Afghanistan began in 2001, Nato, US and Afghan troops have attempted to restore order in the country. Yet today 10 per cent of the
nation is in Taliban hands, the drug trade is rife and suicide bombers are…
The ink on the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Farc rebels may have only just dried but the historic pact, which ended a 52-year war, is already facing its first test. Five mid-level commanders have…