When strolling through Las Margaritas, a neighborhood of over 15,000 people in the city of Soyapango, El Salvador, crossing paths with the MS13 is all but assured. There, almost all…
The Birth of the MS13's Mexico Program
INVESTIGATIONS
/ 15 FEB 2022
On March 2, 2021, El Salvador police announced an unexpected arrest: that of Hugo Armando Quinteros Mineros, alias “Flaco.” His capture took authorities by surprise. For they believed Flaco was…
Open positions: Media and Public Relations Professional / English Language Editor
WORK WITH US
/ 15 FEB 2022
InSight Crime is looking for a media and public relations professional and a senior English editor, preferably based in Latin America…
NEWS
Booming Mexico Resort Town of Puerto Vallarta is Hostage to CJNG
EXTORTION
/
22 FEB 2022
Recent US sanctions against an alleged Jalisco Cartel operative have revealed that the powerful Mexican group is using the resort town of Puerto Vallarta to process drug cash through nightclubs,…
NEWS
Top Ex-Colombian Officers' Trafficking Case Recalls Past Abuses
COLOMBIA
/
21 FEB 2022
Three retired Colombian army commanders have been accused of belonging to a criminal network that served the Urabeños drug clan, in a case illustrating how the highest ranks of Colombia's…
NEWS
Operation Black Tide: The Voyage of a Drug Sub Across the Atlantic
COCAINE
/
21 FEB 2022
When authorities in Spain captured the first known drug submarine to cross the Atlantic, questions soon surfaced about how such a journey could be possible.
NEWS
Cocaine Flows from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico
CARIBBEAN
/
18 FEB 2022
Dominican authorities recently intercepted a cocaine-laden speedboat destined for Puerto Rico – the latest in a series of maritime seizures showing a flourishing drug trade between the Dominican Republic and…
NEWS
Argentina Redraws Marijuana Maps After Massive Seizure
ARGENTINA
/
18 FEB 2022
A colossal seizure of more than 10,000 cannabis plants in the western provinces of Salta and Jujuy in Argentina provides evidence that marijuana growers are trying to spread the illicit…
NEWS
'Invisible' Drug Trafficker Joins Forces with Former Enemies in Colombia
AUC
/
17 FEB 2022
An "invisible" Colombian drug lord whose criminal history dates to the country's former paramilitary army has been revealed to have set up drug routes with dissident guerrilla fighters, showing how…
NEWS
Bodies Hanging from Bridges - Where Mexico Led, Ecuador Follows
COCAINE
/
17 FEB 2022
The discovery of two bodies hanging from a bridge in Ecuador may be the starkest sign yet of the country’s accelerated spiral into violence, including copying the worst excesses seen…
NEWS
Targeted Killings: The Favored Modus Operandi of Paraguay's Drug Gangs
HOMICIDES
/
16 FEB 2022
Brazen killings by hired gunmen have not only shaken Paraguay recently but shined a light on the growing use of this method by drug gangs when targeting their rivals.
NEWS
Former Honduras President Accused of Drug Conspiracy That Moved 500 Tons of Cocaine
COCAINE
/
15 FEB 2022
With the arrest of former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández on drug charges, US prosecutors have brought down a powerful figure once considered a US ally, but who later emerged…
NEWS
Safehouses, Bodyguards and Fake ID - Panama's Top Drug Trafficker on the Run
BAGDAD
/
15 FEB 2022
The leader of Panama’s largest drug trafficking group has been arrested in Costa Rica and is set to be extradited to the United States, although this is unlikely to heavily…
Featured Reporting and Analysis
In 2021, most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a marked increase in murders. Resurgent violence was to be expected after some of the world’s strictest COVID-19 lockdowns…
ARGENTINA
/
1 FEB 2022
On March 2, 2021, El Salvador police announced an unexpected arrest: that of Hugo Armando Quinteros Mineros, alias “Flaco.” His capture took authorities by surprise. For they believed Flaco was…
EL SALVADOR
/
15 FEB 2022
Where Honduras ends, there are no borders, no guards, no gate post. This is where a nation vanishes with no fanfare.
HONDURAS
/
19 JAN 2022
Prediction of the criminal dynamics for 2022 is even harder than most years, as it involves predicting the march of coronavirus. Organized crime does not exist in a bubble.
BRAZIL
/
31 DEC 2021
In this run-down neighborhood in Guatemala City, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) does not exist. And yet, there are still a host of emeeses, as the gang's members are known.
GUATEMALA
/
7 FEB 2022
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InDepth
When the MS13 Played Possum in Guatemala
GUATEMALA
/ 7 FEB 2022
InSight Crime's 2021 Homicide Round-Up
ARGENTINA
/ 1 FEB 2022
About InSight Crime
WORK WITH US
Open positions: Media and Public Relations Professional / English Language Editor
15 FEB 2022
InSight Crime is looking for a media and public relations professional and a senior English editor, preferably based in Latin America…
THE ORGANIZATION
Guatemala Social Insecurity Investigation Makes Front Page News
10 DEC 2021
InSight Crime’s latest investigation into a case of corruption within Guatemala's social security agency linked to the deaths of patients with kidney disease made waves in…
THE ORGANIZATION
Venezuela El Dorado Investigation Makes Headlines
3 DEC 2021
InSight Crime's investigation into the trafficking of illegal gold in Venezuela's Amazon region generated impact on both social media and in the press. Besides being republished and mentioned by several…
THE ORGANIZATION
Gender and Investigative Techniques Focus of Workshops
26 NOV 2021
On November 23-24, InSight Crime conducted a workshop called “How to Cover Organized Crime: Investigation Techniques and A Focus on Gender.” The session convened reporters and investigators from a dozen…
THE ORGANIZATION
InSight Crime Names Two New Board Members
19 NOV 2021
In recent weeks, InSight Crime added two new members to its board. Joy Olson is the former executive director of the Washington Office on Latin America…