How South American drug cartels get around coronavirus lockdowns

By Luke Taylor

Civil Guard agents in Valencia, Spain inspect part of the 3800 kilos of cocaine seized in June

Rober Solsona/Europa Press via Getty Images

Like most other industries, the illegal drug trade has been impacted by the covid-19 pandemic, but it hasn’t stopped cartels from finding ways around national shutdowns and anti-narcotics police operations.
On 1 July, Colombian and US naval forces seized 7.5 tonnes of cocaine on its way to Panama from the carribean port of Cartagena, one of Colombia’s largest drug busts in recent years.

The drugs were being shipped from a Colombian paramilitary group to criminal …