World News
Global wildlife trafficking on the rise, aided by drug cartels on September 2, 2023 at 10:00 am
Global wildlife trafficking is on the rise, adding a dimension to transnational crime and increasing the risk that U.S. corporations could unwittingly become entangled in the illicit trade.
A new white paper by Moody’s Analytics highlights the growing risk for private enterprise, and the growing involvement of transnational crime in wildlife smuggling.
“Brands sometimes are involved in supply chains and they might not truly know who their supplier is,” said Richard Graham, Third Party Risk Management lead at Moody’s Analytics.
“If you’re doing business with someone that is a supplier that is involved in some sort of wildlife trafficking, via animals or probably more likely the wood from different endangered trees, that’s a very bad story for your brand. It impacts reputational risk, and also it’s probably illegal.”
Beyond reputational risks, wildlife trafficking is driving extinction, deforestation — particularly in the Amazon — as well as corruption at all levels of government.
The practice has also become an attractive market for transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels, which can use the practice to avoid money laundering sanctions.
“The large Mexican criminal groups, the Cártel de Sinaloa and Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación are also involved in a wide variety of legal and illegal economies: timber, legal fishing as well as illegal fishing, water distribution and legal agriculture, are also increasingly involved in wildlife trafficking,” said Vanda Felbab-Brown, an expert on international organized crime at the Brookings Institution.
“And they are paying in wildlife and timber products to Chinese criminal groups for their supply of precursor chemicals for the production of fentanyl,” Felbab-Brown added.
According to a United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network report cited by Moody’s, financial information reviewed from 2018-21 showed a 154 percent increase in wildlife trafficking during that period.
But that financial information does not cover schemes like the cross-Pacific trade in kind between Mexican cartels and Chinese criminal organizations.
The wildlife trade is also attractive to large criminal enterprises because it doesn’t require involvement throughout the entire supply chain, and because there is a large gray area where illicit goods can filter into the formal economy.
In the Americas, for instance, much of the wildlife for trafficking is sourced from small-scale poaching operations, particularly for local markets.
“It is very rudimentary, very much geared towards the domestic market. So a large portion of animals that are being trafficked — and you know this from knowing the region — often get trafficked in a way that people don’t think of them as being trafficked,” said Steven Dudley, co-director of InSight, a program that tracks crime in the Western Hemisphere.
That small-scale traffic also has repercussions beyond environmental impact — the Moody’s report cited related corruption at all levels of authority, “from low-level park rangers to high-ranking government officials.”
Yet some forms of sourcing in the Americas involve broader networks and large-scale environmental damage, for instance trafficking animals captured from areas of Amazon jungle that have been illegally cleared.
“There is a convergence there where you’ve got loggers starting to get involved with drugs and you’ve got drugs, drug dealers and drug manufacturers, getting involved with wildlife and illegal green crimes, and because it’s still a crime, it’s lucrative, and you can converge because it’s the same routes,” Graham said.
According to the report, the entry of organized crime into the wildlife trafficking environment has increased “the ability to move multi-ton commercial shipments of wildlife.”
While there are areas of convergence between wildlife trafficking and other types of international crime, that’s not the case for all species.
“You still have many wildlife trafficking networks that are highly specialized in wildlife trafficking,” Felbab-Brown said.
“This is especially true when wildlife trafficking entails live animals, such as birds or reptiles, where the knowledge needs to be much higher. In cases where the trafficking is of parts of dead animals — ivory, rhino horn — it’s far easier for any criminal group [to develop] the logistics to smuggle.”
Most major jurisdictions including the United States and Europe have robust legislation to fight trafficking, and the U.N. convention that regulates the practice currently has 170 member nations, but wildlife trafficking still receives less attention than other aspects of international crime.
In the United States, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division is in charge of investigating and prosecuting wildlife trafficking.
Though some aspects of the HSI’s work on wildlife trafficking are equivalent to other international law enforcement and smuggling operations, there is one key distinction.
“A crucial but inadequate part in combating drug trafficking is drug seizures. Drug seizures matter because they raise prices,” Felbab-Brown said.
“Doing seizures in wildlife trafficking is not just inadequate, it’s directly counterproductive.”
While drug seizures do raise prices, they also cause distributors to order an increase in production, Felbab-Brown explained.
“How does a wildlife trafficking network adapt to seizures? It orders a larger number of killing of animals. So instead of killing 20 animals, traffickers may decide that if they will have 80 percent losses of seizures, they will order the poaching of 100 animals.”
And Felbab-Brown said persecution of wildlife trafficking is an important way to go after large criminal groups, rather than just focusing on drug interdiction.
Still, the United States remains a magnet for the activity both because of high demand and because the country’s vast financial system presents opportunities to hide proceeds, according to the Moody’s report.
“While Americans may have moved beyond the Tiger King craze of 2020, the country still has a big cats — and other wildlife trafficking — problem,” Graham said.
Global wildlife trafficking is on the rise, adding a dimension to transnational crime and increasing the risk that U.S. corporations could unwittingly become entangled in the illicit trade. A new white paper by Moody’s Analytics highlights the growing risk for private enterprise, and the growing involvement of transnational crime in wildlife smuggling. “Brands sometimes are…
President Donald Trump says the United States might one day get rid of federal income tax because of money the government collects from tariffs on imported goods. Tariffs are extra taxes the U.S. puts on products that come from other countries.
What Trump Is Saying
Trump has said that tariff money could become so large that it might allow the government to cut income taxes “almost completely.” He has also talked about possibly phasing out income tax over the next few years if tariff money keeps going up.
How Taxes Work Now
Right now, the federal government gets much more money from income taxes than from tariffs. Income taxes bring in trillions of dollars each year, while tariffs bring in only a small part of that total. Because of this gap, experts say tariffs would need to grow by many times to replace income tax money.
Questions From Experts
Many economists and tax experts doubt that tariffs alone could pay for the whole federal budget. They warn that very high tariffs could make many imported goods more expensive for shoppers in the United States. This could hit lower- and middle‑income families hardest, because they spend a big share of their money on everyday items.
What Congress Must Do
The president can change some tariffs, but only Congress can change or end the federal income tax. That means any real plan to remove income tax would need new laws passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. So far, there is no detailed law or full budget plan on this idea.
What It Means Right Now
For now, Trump’s comments are a proposal, not a change in the law. People and businesses still have to pay federal income tax under the current rules. The debate over using tariffs instead of income taxes is likely to continue among lawmakers, experts, and voters.
Former President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing federal agencies to declassify all government files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier whose death in 2019 continues to fuel controversy and speculation.
The order, signed Wednesday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, instructs the FBI, Department of Justice, and intelligence agencies to release documents detailing Epstein’s network, finances, and alleged connections to high-profile figures. Trump described the move as “a step toward transparency and public trust,” promising that no names would be shielded from scrutiny.
“This information belongs to the American people,” Trump said in a televised statement. “For too long, powerful interests have tried to bury the truth. That ends now.”
U.S. intelligence officials confirmed that preparations for the release are already underway. According to sources familiar with the process, the first batch of documents is expected to be made public within the next 30 days, with additional releases scheduled over several months.
Reactions poured in across the political spectrum. Supporters praised the decision as a bold act of accountability, while critics alleged it was politically motivated, timed to draw attention during a volatile election season. Civil rights advocates, meanwhile, emphasized caution, warning that some records could expose private victims or ongoing legal matters.
The Epstein case, which implicated figures in politics, business, and entertainment, remains one of the most talked-about scandals of the past decade. Epstein’s connections to influential individuals—including politicians, royals, and executives—have long sparked speculation about the extent of his operations and who may have been involved.
Former federal prosecutor Lauren Fields said the release could mark a turning point in public discourse surrounding government transparency. “Regardless of political stance, this declassification has the potential to reshape how Americans view power and accountability,” Fields noted.
Officials say redactions may still occur to protect sensitive intelligence or personal information, but the intent is a near-complete disclosure. For years, critics of the government’s handling of Epstein’s case have accused agencies of concealing evidence or shielding elites from exposure. Trump’s order promises to change that narrative.
As anticipation builds, journalists, legal analysts, and online commentators are preparing for what could be one of the most consequential information releases in recent history.
What Happened at the United Nations
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, defending Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza. As he spoke, more than 100 delegates from over 50 countries stood up and left the chamber—a rare and significant diplomatic walkout. Outside the UN, thousands of protesters gathered to voice opposition to Netanyahu’s policies and call for accountability, including some who labeled him a war criminal. The protest included activists from Palestinian and Jewish groups, along with international allies.
Why Did Delegates and Protesters Walk Out?
The walkouts and protests were a response to Israel’s continued offensive in Gaza, which has resulted in widespread destruction and a significant humanitarian crisis. Many countries and individuals have accused Israel of excessive use of force, and some international prosecutors have suggested Netanyahu should face investigation by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, including claims that starvation was used as a weapon against civilians. At the same time, a record number of nations—over 150—recently recognized the State of Palestine, leaving the United States as the only permanent UN Security Council member not to join them.
International Reaction and Significance
The diplomatic walkouts and street protests demonstrate increasing global concern over the situation in Gaza and growing support for Palestinian statehood. Several world leaders, including Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, showed visible solidarity with protesters. Petro called for international intervention and, controversially, for US troops not to follow orders he viewed as supporting ongoing conflict. The US later revoked Petro’s visa over his role in the protests, which he argued was evidence of a declining respect for international law.
Why Is This News Important?
The Gaza conflict is one of the world’s most contentious and closely-watched issues. It has drawn strong feelings and differing opinions from governments, activists, and ordinary people worldwide. The United Nations, as an international organization focused on peace and human rights, is a key arena for these debates. The events surrounding Netanyahu’s speech show that many nations and voices are urging new action—from recognition of Palestinian rights to calls for sanctions against Israel—while discussion and disagreement over the best path forward continue.
This episode at the UN highlights how international diplomacy, public protests, and official policy are all intersecting in real time as the search for solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains urgent and unresolved.
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