Mano Dura Redux: The Price of Mass Gang Arrests in El Salvador
El Salvador has arrested over 40,000 alleged gang members. This seems shocking but it is not without precedent in the country.
El Salvador's Security Crackdown May Feed Gang Recruitment
El Salvador's sweeping crackdown, which has seen over 30,000 people arrested, may in fact drive many desperate young people straight into the arms of the gangs.
Connections to Paraguay Prosecutor's Murder Stretch from Colombia to Brazil
New details have emerged about the assassination of Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo Pecci, including that the hit was methodically planned in the Colombian city of Medellín, that its intellectual authors in…
State Resilience: Little Political Will for Protecting Peru's Amazon
While there are some efforts to build resilience, including the passing of new legislative frameworks and some other signs of political willingness to tackle the problem, there is still a…
Corruption at Every Level: Who Profits from Destruction of Peru's Amazon
From unchecked agricultural development to wildlife trafficking, corruption greases the wheels of every environmental crime in the Peruvian Amazon.
Poaching Grounds: Wildlife Trafficking in Peru's Amazon
Peru – rich in biodiversity – is a hotspot for the wildlife trade. Reptiles, fish and birds are all trafficked locally and internationally.
A Toxic Trade: Illegal Mining in Peru's Amazon
Illegal gold mining drives the destruction of Peru's Amazon, where fortune seekers strip forests and leave behind poisonous pools of mercury.
Felled and Burned: Deforestation in Peru's Amazon
Rich in resources, Peru's Amazon is being plundered at an accelerated rate, losing more than 26,000 square kilometers of forest since 2001.
Money Grows on Trees: Environmental Crime in Peru's Amazon
Peru’s Amazon, which covers nearly half of the Andean country, is rich in biodiversity and critical to the capture of carbon, which mitigates global warming. Political instability and corruption, however,…
Former Honduras President Pleads Not Guilty, Ex-Police Chief Extradited to US
Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández pleaded not guilty to US drug charges on the same day that a notorious ex-Honduras police chief was extradited to the US – in…
Otoniel's Extradition Heralds End for a Generation of Colombian Traffickers
Accused Colombia drug lord Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias “Otoniel,” has been extradited to the United States, bringing to an end an era of traffickers forged in the fires of the…
US Indictment of Honduran Ex-President Spells Out 20 Years of Drug Ties
The indictment of former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández has revealed that he is accused of receiving millions in drug money from traffickers, using it to commit voter fraud in…
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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