Chinese triads and Mexican cartels exploit US cuts to wildlife aid
David Pilling
Mbabane, Eswatini | If HIV patients in the global south were an obvious casualty of Elon Musk’s decimation of US foreign aid, one group may have been unintended beneficiaries: the international criminal gangs involved in the illicit trade of endangered animals.
The $US23 billion ($35.4 billion) illegal wildlife trade is run by a range of actors, from global crime groups like Chinese triads and Mexican cartels to local poachers. Those criminals are benefiting from the Trump administration scrapping US-funded programs to combat wildlife trafficking and protect endangered species, experts and campaigners say.