Investigations

INVESTIGATIONS

Nicaragua Elites and Organized Crime: Ted Hayman, the Cocaine Fisherman

COCAINE / 15 JUL 2021

Nicaraguan Fisherman Ted Hayman Forbes and his drug trafficking network operated from Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the Colombian island of San Andres in the Caribbean. His capture and sentencing…

Nicaragua Elites and Organized Crime: The Case of Henry Fariñas

COCAINE / 15 JUL 2021

The murder of a prominent folk singer in Guatemala thrust a Nicaraguan nightclub owner into the spotlight and revealed an illicit drug trafficking network that stretched from Colombia to Mexico.

Nicaragua Elites and Organized Crime: Introduction

ELITES AND CRIME / 15 JUL 2021

In the process of expanding their influence, criminal groups often develop close ties with elites in an effort to gain protection and access to better resources. This facet of transnational…

Donkey Skin Trafficking on Colombia’s Northern Coast

CHINA AND CRIME / 14 MAY 2021

When hundreds of skinned donkeys appeared on Colombia’s northern coast without explanation, locals -- and later authorities -- started asking questions. The answer, as it was many of these wildlife…

The Illegal Sea Cucumber Trade in Kaukira, Honduras

ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME / 14 MAY 2021

Both banks of the salty canal near the town of Kaukira show e vestiges of the boom-bust nature of life in this area. A pair of abandoned, two-story buildings lie…

Peru's Turtle Traffickers Operate Under Veneer of Legality

CHINA AND CRIME / 14 MAY 2021

The taricaya turtle conservation program in northern Peru has been heralded as bringing an endangered species back from the brink of extinction while protecting millions of hectares of rainforest from…

Colombia Teachers - Last Line of Defense Against Forced Recruitment

COLOMBIA / 15 APR 2021

Colombia remains a hotspot for forced recruitment of minors. In this, the last of a three-part investigation by InSight Crime, journalist Mathew Charles looks at how school teachers are trying…

In Colombia, Child Soldiers Play Many Roles

COLOMBIA / 8 APR 2021

Children serve in a wide range of roles in criminal organizations: errand boy, landmine builder, frontline combatant and assassin. In this, the second of a three-part investigation by InSight Crime…

Bajo Cauca and Vaupés – Colombia’s Child Recruitment Hotspots

COLOMBIA / 1 APR 2021

As in the darkest days of Colombia's civil conflict, armed groups across the country continue to enlist and exploit teenage boys and girls. In this, the first of a three-part…

How an MS13 Clique in El Salvador Took a Cocaine Corridor

COCAÍNA / 23 MAR 2021

On the El Salvador’s eastern border, a subtle transfer of power could have seismic consequences in the underworld.

From Argentine Shrine to Marijuana Corridor: The Story of Itatí

ARGENTINA / 16 MAR 2021

An ambitious mayor, a well-connected deputy mayor, dirty cops, a corrupt judge, and a lot of marijuana. This is the story of Itatí, the sleepy town that went from religious…

Chasing Brazil’s Premier Money Launderer

BRAZIL / 4 MAR 2021

There were few better at money laundering than the Brazilian Dario Messer, who, while scrambling to save himself from Brazilian authorities, did one last tour of his prime refuge, Paraguay,…

Drug Trafficking and Political Protection in Paraguay: The Case of ‘Cucho’ Cabaña

ELITES AND CRIME / 25 FEB 2021

In a Paraguay border state, drug traffickers and dirty politicians find common ground, and political fights spill into the underworld.

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About InSight Crime

ABOUT US

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Greater Focus on US-Mexico Border

20 JUL 2021

InSight Crime has decided to turn many of its investigative resources towards understanding and chronicling the criminal dynamics along the US-Mexico border.

THE ORGANIZATION

Key Arrests and Police Budget Increases Due to InSight Crime Investigations

8 JUL 2021

With Memo Fantasma’s arrest, InSight Crime has proven that our investigations can and will uncover major criminal threats in the Americas.

THE ORGANIZATION

Organized Crime’s Influence on Gender-Based Violence

30 JUN 2021

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.