Nicholas Magliocca, an LCLUC Principal Investigator, co-authored a study published in Biological Conservation that highlights the alarming impact of drug trafficking on jaguar populations in Central America. The research revealed that approximately 69% of jaguars in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC) inhabit areas increasingly exploited by drug cartels. Protected areas, favored for their remoteness, are disproportionately affected, with 52% of jaguar populations in these regions exposed to drug trafficking activities.

icholas Magliocca, an LCLUC Principal Investigator, collaborated with Kendra McSweeney from Ohio State University and an international team to uncover the troubling potential for coca cultivation in Central America. Published in Environmental Research Letters, the study revealed that nearly 47% of Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize have ideal biophysical conditions for growing coca, the main ingredient in cocaine. This is significant, as coca cultivation has historically been limited to South America.

This podcast episode features Nicholas Magliocca, LCLUC Principal Investigator, alongside Kendra McSweeney (Ohio State University) and Fritz Pinnow (Honduras-based journalist and photographer). The discussion centers on the emerging trend of coca leaf cultivation in Central America, a region historically unaffected by this crop, which has been primarily associated with the Andean countries.

A recent article in The Guardian highlighted research on the environmental impacts of narco-trafficking in Central America, citing a study published in Nature Sustainability. The study, led by Nicholas Magliocca, a Principal Investigator (PI) of an LCLUC project at the University of Alabama, reveals how cocaine trafficking contributes to deforestation in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC), a biodiversity hotspot with significant conservation value.