Fentanyl Enters Heroin Supply in Tijuana, Mexico
Drug users in Tijuana are being unwittingly exposed to the deadly opioid fentanyl in a corridor where the drug is frequently smuggled, but where the effects of the opioid crisis…
GameChangers 2019: Latin America’s Top 10 Criminal Groups
Colombia’s last rebel army is now the most powerful criminal syndicate in Latin America, as it expands across Colombia and far into Venezuela, deepening its involvement in the drug trade.
GameChangers 2019: Illegal Mining, Latin America’s Go-To Criminal Economy
The criminal, economic and political dynamics behind illegal gold rushes this past year in Venezuela and Ecuador were very different. But both countries illustrate the same trend: that illegal mining…
GameChangers 2019: Northern Triangle Countries to Fight Corruption Alone, if at All
The year 2019 saw the end of a brief golden era when local and international forces came together to fight state and private corruption in the Northern Triangle.
Record Cocaine Seizures in Brazil Reveals Drug Flooding Ports
Cocaine seizures in Brazil have hit a record high this year -- with the vast majority of drugs detected in cargo containers at the country’s ports.
Costa Rica Struggling to Stop Repeated Organ Trafficking Cases
Prosecutors in Costa Rica are investigating a suspected organ trafficking ring at a hospital in the country’s capital -- the second time in recent years they’ve uncovered such a ring.
'Transportista' Groups Expand Operations in Costa Rica
A Costa Rican crime group earned more than $100,000 providing logistical support to drug traffickers -- evidence that “transportista” services in the Central American nation are as lucrative as ever.
Narcops: How Police and Drug Dealers Collude in Argentina
On April 10, 2018 in the Argentine city of Rosario, a man named Ramón Ezequiel Machuca was sentenced to 37 years in prison. The indictment was hailed by prosecutors as…
Miami Professor, Crime Expert Charged with Money Laundering
A University of Miami professor and expert on organized crime in Latin America has been charged with laundering millions of dollars of illicit proceeds from Venezuela, causing both shock and…
Human Smuggling from Asia to Latin America On Rise
Authorities dismantled a transnational human smuggling ring that brought migrants from South Asia to Brazil and then transported them all the way to the US-Mexico border, relying on a vast…
Women in Brazil PCC Cell Take Part in Planning Killings
Female members of a cell of Brazil’s violent PCC prison gang ordered and carried out the killing of another woman, challenging the assumption that women only occupy the gang’s lowest…
More than 500 Venezuela Security Officials Involved in Extortion, Kidnappings
More than ten percent of extortion and kidnapping cases recorded in Venezuela involve members of the police and military, demonstrating the country’s continuing struggle with criminality in the security forces.
About InSight Crime
Unraveling the Web of Elites Connected to Organized Crime
InSight Crime published Elites and Organized Crime in Nicaragua, a deep dive into the relationships between criminal actors and elites in that Central American nation.
InSight Crime’s Greater Focus on US-Mexico Border
InSight Crime has decided to turn many of its investigative resources towards understanding and chronicling the criminal dynamics along the US-Mexico border.
Key Arrests and Police Budget Increases Due to InSight Crime Investigations
With Memo Fantasma’s arrest, InSight Crime has proven that our investigations can and will uncover major criminal threats in the Americas.
Organized Crime’s Influence on Gender-Based Violence
InSight Crime investigator Laura N. Ávila spoke on organized crime and gender-based violence at the launch of a research project by the United Nations Development Programme.
Conversation with Paraguay Judicial Operators on PCC
InSight Crime Co-director Steven Dudley formed part of a panel attended by over 500 students, all of whom work in Paraguay's judicial system.
Stay Informed with Weekly InSight
Get fresh updates on organized crime from across the region delivered to your inbox.
SUBSCRIBE