Bolivia Anti-Drug Official Recognizes Challenges
Bolivia's leading anti-drug official, Sabino Mendoza, is well aware of the challenges that drug trafficking and transnational organized crime present to his landlocked Andean nation. However, he is convinced that…
Paraguay's Guerrillas Split, Dissident Group Replicates Colombia Model
Evidence has emerged that a faction of the Paraguayan People's Army (EPP) has broken away and formed a separate group, one perhaps more closely linked with the country's marijuana trade…
Paraguay’s Top Anti-Drug Agent Talks Marijuana Trade
There is an assault rifle with an underslung grenade launcher propped against the wall by Luis Rojas' desk. The drug czar knows he faces an enormous task fighting Paraguay's marijuana…
Colombia's BACRIM Count More Than 3400 Fighters
Police in Colombia have stated that the country's major drug trafficking syndicates currently have more than 3,400 members, present in at least 15 of the Colombia's 32 provinces.
Peru's Shining Path Rebels Video Shows New Blood, Weapons
Peru's Shining Path rebel movement has released a video showing its fighters, several very young, parading with an impressive arsenal, as the group seeks to show it is still a…
Are Paraguay Rebels Looking for Prisoner Exchange?
Alcido Fick has made an impassioned plea to the EPP for the release of his son, for whom a ransom has already been paid. But Paraguay's rebel group may be…
Another Colombia Mafia Boss Arrested in Spain
A Medellin mafia boss and enforcer has been arrested in Spain, where he was allegedly running drug trafficking networks moving cocaine from Colombia to Europe.
The Reality of the FARC Peace Talks in Havana
If we are to believe the Colombian government, the question is not if, but rather when, an end to 50 years of civil conflict will be reached. Yet the promise…
The FARC and the Drug Trade: Siamese Twins?
The FARC have always had a love-hate relationship with drugs. They love the money it brings, funds which have allowed them to survive and even threaten to topple the state…
The Future of the BACRIM and Post-Conflict Colombia
While the Urabeños are presently established as Colombia's top drug trafficking group, it remains to be seen how the evolution of organized crime in Colombia, and the future of the…
The Last BACRIM Standing: The Urabeños Today
Today the Urabeños are the only BACRIM with a national reach. They are also arguably the only real BACRIM still standing. While the government recognizes the existence of three BACRIM…
The Evolution of the Urabeños
Uraba, which means "promised land" in the indigenous tongue, was the cradle of the paramilitaries, and remains the country's principal BACRIM stronghold. This is where most of the Urabeños command…
About InSight Crime
Who Are Memo Fantasma and Sergio Roberto de Carvalho?
Inside the criminal career of Memo Fantasma In March 2020, InSight Crime revealed the identity and whereabouts of Memo Fantasma, a paramilitary commander and drug trafficker living in…
Environmental and Academic Praise
InSight Crime’s six-part series on the plunder of the Peruvian Amazon continues to inform the debate on environmental security in the region. Our Environmental Crimes Project Manager, María Fernanda Ramírez,…
Series on Plunder of Peru’s Amazon Makes Headlines
Since launching on June 2, InSight Crime’s six-part series on environmental crime in Peru’s Amazon has been well-received. Detailing the shocking impunity enjoyed by those plundering the rainforest, the investigation…
Duarte’s Death Makes Waves
The announcement of the death of Gentil Duarte, one of the top dissident commanders of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), continues to reverberate in Venezuela and Colombia.
Cattle Trafficking Acclaim, Investigation into Peru’s Amazon
On May 18, InSight Crime launched its most recent investigation into cattle trafficking between Central America and Mexico. It showed precisely how beef, illicitly produced in Honduras, Guatemala…
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