Libya’s oil production problems extend far beyond whether the forces of Tripoli or Benghazi secure ultimate control over the country: Clan-based militias are running their own smuggling operations, and their mafia reach is said to extend as far as the Coast Guard—and even into Europe. This smuggled oil is making its way into Europe, and Libya authorities say it has cost the state US$360 million so far, at a time when the country is producing only 715,000 barrels per day , down from its Ghaddafi heydays of 1.6 million bpd. The post-Ghaddafi chaos has created some great business opportunities in both human trafficking and oil smuggling. According to a stellar and rare (these days) piece of investigative reporting by Italian journalist Frecesca Mannocchi, the western coastal strip of Libya running from Zawya to Sabratha is a smuggler’s paradise, with the local police and coast guard complicit in lucrative oil […]