Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“Strategically located on the Adriatic Sea, between Eastern and Western Europe, Albania is a small country. However, after the downfall of a repressive communist regime in the early 1990s, it gained an outsize reputation as a hub of organized crime and corruption. Getting a handle on international drug-trafficking networks and pervasive graft at home has been a tall order. But pro-Western Prime Minster Edi Rama – at 6 foot, 7 inches, reputedly the world’s tallest leader – is proving up to the task. He decisively won a fourth term in May, riding on popular support for his cleanup campaign. Just last week, 10 suspected members of a cocaine and money-laundering ring were arrested by SPAK, a specialized anti-corruption unit set up in 2019. In recent months, SPAK has also gone after senior public officials, including from Mr. Rama’s governing Socialist Party.” (08/12/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2025/0812/Albanians-cheer-corruption-cleanup