From Rum to Cocaine, States Lose Long War on Smuggling

The agents moved in to seize the illicit shipment, but the traffickers turned on them, shooting the senior officer and destroying his vehicle. With the local courts hopelessly compromised and corrupt, the outraged authorities wanted to extradite the perpetrators. But this only made them more defiant and violent, and they were never caught or prosecuted.

This may sound like Tijuana or Juarez in recent years, but the year was 1772, and the place was near Providence, Rhode Island. The ringleader of the attack, John Brown -- a prominent local merchant whose business interests included smuggling and slave trading -- helped found the university that bears his name (and happens to be my employer).