Two men are currently facing a criminal trial in Italy for allegedly poaching and smuggling some of the world’s most threatened cacti from Chile’s Atacama Desert into Europe. The public prosecutor of Ancona accuses Andrea Piombetti and Mattia Cresentini of importing and exporting endangered cacti without the required permits. Piombetti, in particular, is alleged to have uprooted more than 900 cacti himself from their natural habitat during repeated trips to Chile. This is illegal under Italian laws that apply the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (…