Textiles and Organized Crime: How Everyday Products Turn Criminal Profits
Two recent cases from opposite ends of South America show how criminal activities as diverse as contraband smuggling and human trafficking converge around one simple everyday product: textiles.
Colombia Disbands Transnational Synthetic Drug Ring
Authorities in Colombia and the United States have broken up a synthetic drug trafficking network that reportedly supplied six countries in the region, indicating transnational criminal groups are beginning to…
How the Scandal that Rocked Guatemala Threatens the Presidency
Guatemala President Otto Perez Molina and Vice President Roxana Baldetti have come under intense scrutiny for their potential links to one of the country's biggest corruption scandals in recent years.
Mexico’s Contraband Seizures Point to Persistent Problem at Ports
Data on seizures by customs officials at Mexicos ports of entry over the last decade illustrates where organized crime prefers to smuggle goods into and out of the country, and…
Costa Rica Dismantles Drug Trafficking Network
Costa Rica's authorities have arrested over a dozen alleged members of a drug trafficking network that officials say has contributed to rising violence, but the country's criminal dynamics indicate other…
Bahamas Gets US Help to Combat Human Trafficking
The United States and the Bahamas have signed an agreement to facilitate combating transnational criminal activity on the islands, including the horrific crime of human trafficking. …
El Salvador Proposes First Ever Gang Rehabilitation Law
El Salvador's government is proposing a law that would be the first of its kind, offering support to gang members who elect to leave. …
Colombia Launches New BACRIM Offensive
President Juan Manuel Santos announced a new security plan intended to further disrupt the operations of Colombia's already weakened criminal organizations, further indication that a demobilization process involving these groups…
Drug Gangs Battle for Peru’s Chief Seaport
Criminal networks are reportedly feuding for control of Peru's principal seaport, a key hub in the transnational drug and contraband trade. …
Colombia Illegal Car Trade Worth $3.9 Billion
Half of all car parts sold in Colombia come from stolen vehicles, and that's just one segment of a transnational black market trade worth billions of dollars.
How Soccer Fans and Violence Mix in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Among soccer fans worldwide, Argentina's "barras bravas," Italian "ultras," and British hooligans are the fan groups best known for perpetrating violence. However, soccer aficionados know that Brazil's Torcidas Organizadas (organized…
‘El Salvador Gang Members Flee to Honduras, Guatemala’
A small number of Salvadoran gang members have reportedly elected to set up operations in neighboring Central American countries, in order to escape violent clashes back home. …
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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. …
InSight Crime – Ten Years of Investigating Organized Crime in the Americas
In early 2009, Steven Dudley was in Medellín, Colombia. His assignment: speak to a jailed paramilitary leader in the Itagui prison, just south of the city. Following his interview inside…
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