‘Chepe Luna,’ the Police and the Art of Escape
The United States -- which through its antinarcotics, judicial and police attaches was very familiar with the routes used for smuggling, and especially those used for people trafficking and understood…
The Infiltrators: Corruption in El Salvador’s Police
Ricardo Mauricio Menesses Orellana liked horses, and the Pasaquina rodeo was a great opportunity to enjoy a party. He was joined at the event -- which was taking place in the…
Purging El Salvador’s National Police: Mission Impossible
In the past fortnight, two newspaper articles have sought to address impunity within El Salvador's Civil National Police (PNC). One revealed the links between a Texis Cartel associate…
Corruption, Real Estate and the Texis Cartel in El Salvador
Leonel Sandoval Villeda does not spend much time worrying about the Salvadoran justice system, mostly because his control over judges and police has allowed him to escape unscathed from…
El Salvador Soccer Scandal is a ‘Metaphor for the Country’
In August this year, the sports magazine El Grafico published a story that shook the country: a player from the national soccer team, speaking anonymously, claimed that an international match…
UN Confirms Links Between El Salvador’s Perrones and Pacific Cartel
A UNODC report states that the Pacific Cartel, a federation formed by Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel, has formed alliances with El Salvador's Perrones transport group, confirming information that…
The Many Faces of MS-13 Arms Supplier ‘Medio Millon’
When the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on six Salvadoran leaders of the MS-13, only one of them is described outright as a "narcotics trafficker." Analyst Hector Silva examines the…
UN Highlights Salvadoran Narcos’ Political Connections
In contrast to other territorial criminal organizations, El Salvador's drug trafficking groups do not resort to violence because they can count on the protection of corrupt state officials, says the…
‘Medio Millon,’ El Salvador Mobster, Lived in Boston Until 2009
The leader of El Salvador's Texis Cartel, Jose Misael Cisneros Rodriguez, alias "Medio Millon" (Half a Million), allegedly silenced a witness who knew about his criminal history in…
What 2 MS-13 Leaders Have in Common: Active Gangs in the US
Two of the MS-13 gang leaders recently blacklisted by the US Treasury have gang factions, or "cliques," with a long history of activity along the US East Coast, committing murders…
Washington: a Refuge for Friends of El Salvador Drug Trafficker
For the second time, the Salvadoran embassy in Washington DC is about to turn into a temporal home for a police official linked to Jose Natividad Lena Pereira, alias "Chepe…
Once Again, El Salvador Ignores Narco-Congress Links
El Salvador's security minister claimed that no members of Congress were accused of ties to a recently-captured drug trafficker known as "El Repollo," but was forced to backtrack when facts…
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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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