Balance of Power

Drugs and Gangs Are Menacing Latin America

A surge in cocaine production is boosting the power of organized crime. 

Colombian soldiers and policemen stand guard in Argelia, Colombia, in May.

Photographer: Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP/Getty Images

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Colombia’s 2026 election campaign was shaping up to be the bloodiest in more than a decade even before presidential contender Miguel Uribe Turbay was gunned down in the most high-profile political assassination since the days of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar.