Mexico’s Security Dilemma: Michoacan’s Militias
Well-armed vigilantes in Mexico's Michoacan state have helped authorities dismantle a powerful criminal organization, but now the government may have a more difficult task: keeping Michoacan safe from the vigilantes…
Mexico’s Security Dilemma: The Rise of Michoacan’s Militias
Volunteer community policing has been a tradition in indigenous communities across Southern Mexico for centuries. Though controversial, advocates argue the practice is supported by international law and has been codified…
Mexico’s Security Dilemma: A Myopic Approach to Michoacan’s Militias
The desperation in Michoacan, as in many parts of Mexico, with regards to organized crime has led to a myopic view of this issue. In the short term, it produced,…
Peru Land Theft Case Spotlights Official Corruption
Authorities in Peru are investigating a criminal organization dedicated to land theft, a crime that frequently involves official corruption and particularly impacts impoverished and rural populations.
Report Highlights How Impunity Fuels Lynchings in CentAm
A recent news report discusses the increasing prominence of lynchings, illegal detentions by mobs and other instances of popular justice in some parts of Central America, a phenomenon spurred by…
Paz y Paz Exclusion from Guatemala AG List Raises Impunity Fears
Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz has been excluded from the final shortlist of candidates vying to be Guatemalas next attorney general, a move many rights groups say is politically…
Mexico’s Security Dilemma: The Battle for Michoacan
Faced with the government's failure to rein in the criminals, communities across crime-besieged Mexico have been trying for years to organize effective civic resistance. Michoacan's vigilantes express the most extreme…
Colombia’s President Seeks to Erase ‘Urabeños’ Monicker
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos has announced authorities will begin referring to the criminal group popularly known as the "Urabeños" as "Clan Usuga," in a move that may be resisted…
Belize City Gang Ceasefire is Temporary Reprieve
Authorities in Belize have reported a ceasefire between gangs in the south of the country's largest city following a surge in homicides, though the country's prime minister is pessimistic it…
Mexico Mayor’s Arrest Signals Ongoing Knights Templar Threat
Authorities in Mexico have arrested the mayor of Michoacan's principal port city for alleged Knights Templar ties, in an illustration of how embedded this criminal group is in the southwest…
The Changing Face of São Paulo’s ‘Crackland’
After repeated failed efforts to rout the crack trade in São Paulo, the city is implementing an experimental new program which could provide a model for other drug-plagued cities in…
El Salvador President Presents More Nuanced View of Recent Gang Violence
El Salvador's outgoing president has blamed a spike in homicides on a faction of the 18th Street gang, and the details of his claims reveal a more complex power structure…
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InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area
Through several rounds of extensive field investigations, our researchers have analyzed and mapped out the main illicit economies and criminal groups present in 39 border departments spread across the six countries of study – the Northern Triangle trio of Guatemala, Honduras, and El…
InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize
The staff at InSight Crime was awarded the prestigious Simón Bolívar national journalism prize in Colombia for its two-year investigation into the drug trafficker known as “Memo Fantasma,” which was…
InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works
This project began 10 years ago as an effort to address a problem: the lack of daily coverage, investigative stories and analysis of organized crime in the Americas. …
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