With Bold Move Against CICIG, Guatemala President Calling Trump's Bluff
After declaring the head of a UN commission persona non grata in his country amid investigations into narco donations to his campaign, Guatemala's President Jimmy Morales may well have moved…
El Salvador Special Police Unit Committed Extrajudicial Executions: Report
A special forces unit in the El Salvador police committed at least three extrajudicial executions, sexually assaulted two teenagers and extorted money via Facebook, according to an investigation by the…
Weekly InSight: InSide Colombia's BACRIM
In our July 13 Facebook Live, Executive Director Jeremy McDermott spoke to InSight Crime investigator James Bargent about what are known as "bandas criminales" or BACRIM -- Colombia's "franchise" mafias…
Homicides in Guatemala: Introduction, Methodology, and Major Findings
When violence surged in early 2015 in Guatemala, then-President Otto Pérez Molina knew how to handle the situation: Blame the street gangs. …
Homicides in Guatemala: Analyzing the Data
In the last decade, homicides in Guatemala have obeyed a fairly steady pattern. Guatemala City and some of its surrounding municipalities have the greatest sheer number of homicides. Other states,…
Homicides in Guatemala: Collecting the Data
When someone is murdered in Guatemala, police, forensic doctors and government prosecutors start making their way to the crime scene and a creaky, antiquated 20th century bureaucratic machine kicks into…
Homicides in Guatemala: Conclusions and Recommendations
Olfato. It is a term used quite often in law enforcement and judicial circles in Central America (and other parts of the world as well). It refers to the sixth…
Another Day, Another Damning Testimony of Elites by Honduras Trafficker
In his continuing testimony to a US court in New York City, a confessed drug trafficker from Honduras implicated the brother of current Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández in his…
Covering Violence Against Women: How We Miss the Bigger Story
In our March 9 Facebook Live podcast, Co-director Steven Dudley and Senior Investigator Deborah Bonello talked about how the media misses the bigger story when it covers violence against women.
Top Honduras Drug Trafficker Captured in Guatemala
A little-known, but powerful Honduran underworld figure was arrested in Guatemala on March 4, leading to yet another reconfiguration in an already shaken underworld and sparking intrigue as to what…
Defining a Mafia State: The Case of Guatemala
On March 2, InSight Crime held a Facebook Live session to discuss current events related to organized crime in Latin America. Our main topic was the creation of a mafia…
The Unbearable Solitude of Honduras' Attorney General
Honduras Attorney General Oscar Chinchilla was elected by congress in September 2013, in a controversial process driven largely by the interests of the ruling National Party. But Chinchilla has altered…