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.
Brothers' Arrest Displays History of Narco-Politics in Honduras Drug Corridor
Two brothers -- longtime political powerbrokers in a northeastern region of Honduras that is a major maritime and aerial drug route -- have been arrested in a case that exposes…
Honduras Prison Murder Silences Trafficker With Links to President’s Brother
An alleged drug trafficker whose ledgers proved key to convicting the Honduran president’s brother was brutally murdered in prison, leading to speculation that he would have been able to link…
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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