Security

A fixer who says he connects buyers and sellers moving goods out of Chernobyl describes a trade that has slowed but grown more profitable, building on decades of documented smuggling from the contaminated Exclusion Zone. by A.R. Fomenko VIENNA BUREAU – The truck rolled to a stop at the border, crossing …

Prosecutors say a former DEA financial operations chief used his expertise in a rogue effort for personal gain, agreeing in a federal sting to assist what he believed was a cartel. This installment of Crossings in Wartime examines what happens when the people who know how the machine works decide to run …

by Jose Campos It started under cover of darkness. In the early hours of an August morning in 1980, three men in white jumpsuits rolled a steel box into Harvey’s Resort Hotel and Casino in Stateline, Nevada. They told casino staff it was an IBM copy machine. It wasn’t. Inside …

Smuggling networks led by fixers like Oleg move men through checkpoints, vehicles, and terrain, turning border enforcement into a market for escape. by A.R. Fomenko VIENNA BUREAU – Oleg did not ask many questions when the calls came in. He listened, noted what mattered, and moved on to the next name …

by Susan Katz Keating The No Kings protests advocate for people who live on the margins. We found the ones they pushed aside. The bomb went off on a Saturday afternoon in a town center full of shoppers. Omagh. August 1998. Twenty-nine people and two unborn children who had nothing …

by Susan Katz Keating My correspondent called me from downrange on assignment in Minneapolis. I cut him off when I heard the threats. “Get out. Now,” I said. I am not printing his true name in this article. That decision is mine — one I made as his publisher, and …

Border observers have long reported that cartels sometimes leave strange symbols or objects as territory markers along smuggling corridors. by Heath Hansen I methodically put one foot in front of the other as I make my way up the hilltop. During this hike, it seems the sun is only getting …

In Part 2 of our investigative series, we examine how booby-trapped equipment slipped into wartime aid networks in Ukraine, targeting Russian soldiers. by Susan Katz Keating The Russian soldier placed the FPV goggles on his head, and flipped the switch on his drone console. He expected to see real-time images …

War creates borders. Borders shape power. We examine what moves along the seams. by Susan Katz Keating The soldier lifted his rifle until the business end was inches from my face. “What brings you to Northern Ireland?” he asked.  I took a step back, and he lowered the weapon. I now …

by Susan Katz Keating When President Donald Trump announced the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, he cited the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S. Marines. He included it as part of Iran’s long record of directing proxy attacks on American forces. Here’s how the day unfolded. …