Illicit –adj. something not allowed by law
Disrupt –v. to interfere with something
Simultaneously –adv. taking place at the same time as something else
reign of terror –n. a period when a person or group commits violent acts against many people and causes widespread fear
swaths –n. a long wide strip of land
incremental –adj. change taking place in small steps over time
peripheral –adj. at the edges of something, not in the center
destabilizing –adj. causing to be unable to work in the usual or desired way