Jamaica and Haiti Swap Drugs and Guns
Criminal gangs in Jamaica and Haiti are engaged in a deadly trade: the exchange of marijuana for guns.
Continued Street Drug Sales in Tijuana Puts Users at Risk of Coronavirus
A coronavirus outbreak in the Mexico border city of Tijuana has not stymied street-level heroin and methamphetamine sales, and its large population of drug users is at high risk of…
Colombia's EPL Bitterly Divided Between Political, Drug Trafficking Factions
A top EPL guerrilla commander in Colombia was killed on order of its high command for treason -- an act likely to further inflame infighting among the group’s increasingly desperate…
Eruption of Gang Violence Belies Bukele's Security Wins in El Salvador
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has lashed out after several days of bloodshed amid a coronavirus lockdown, blaming the spike in killings on gangs. But in doing so, he has…
Why is US Sending Navy Warships to Thwart Drug Smugglers?
Though described as a strategy to keep traffickers from exploiting the coronavirus pandemic, the US Navy’s recent deployment of warships to the Caribbean was a long time in the making…
How ‘Memo Fantasma’ Sold Property to Colombia VP's Family Company
In October 2019, InSight Crime conducted a telephone interview with Álvaro Rincón, the husband of Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez. The topic was Guillermo León Acevedo Giraldo, alias “Memo Fantasma”…
Venezuela President's Drug Trafficking Exploits Detailed in US Indictment
US prosecutors have charged Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his closest allies with drug trafficking and corruption, cementing the embattled nation's reputation as a mafia state.
From Cocalero to Kingpin: New Book Tracks Cocaine Supply Chain
A new book by a veteran reporter provides a comprehensive picture of Colombia’s modern-day cocaine trafficking networks and their devastating impact on the society that surrounds them.
US Deportations to El Salvador Sending Migrants to Their Deaths: Report
A Human Rights Watch investigation has found that more than 100 people were killed after deportation from the United States to El Salvador, affirming media and immigration watchdog claims that…
El Salvador's Prosecutions of Officials Who Negotiated With Gangs Explained
Prosecutors in El Salvador have charged high-ranking politicians with electoral fraud in connection to their controversial negotiations with gang leaders, opening a Pandora’s Box for public officials -- long unable…
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.
About InSight Crime
Escaping Barrio 18
Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…
Europe Coverage Makes a Splash
Last week, InSight Crime published an analysis of the role of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport as an arrival hub for cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico. The article was picked up by…
World Looks to InSight Crime for Mexico Expertise
Our coverage of the arrest of Chapitos’ co-founder Ovidio Guzmán López in Mexico has received worldwide attention.In the UK, outlets including The Independent and BBC…
InSight Crime Shares Expertise with US State Department
Last week, InSight Crime Co-founder Steven Dudley took part in the International Anti-Corruption Conference organized by the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor and…
Immediate Response to US-Mexico Marijuana Investigation
InSight Crime’s investigation into how the legalization of marijuana in many US states has changed Mexico’s criminal dynamics made a splash this week appearing on the front page of…
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