Analysis

ANALYSIS

Legitimate Businesses Used as Fronts for Human Trafficking in Argentina

ARGENTINA / 15 SEP 2022

Human traffickers in Argentina are using legitimate business to continue their illicit activities and elude authorities.

InSight Crime’s 2020 Homicide Round-Up

ARGENTINA / 29 JAN 2021

While unrest gripped much of Latin America in 2019, it was the coronavirus that took center stage and ripped through the region in 2020, upending everything from commercial trade to…

Political Elites Seek Again to Infiltrate Guatemala's High Court

ELITES AND CRIME / 29 JAN 2021

Guatemala's congress has named to the country's Constitutional Court a judge who is under investigation for obstruction of justice, in a brazen attempt by political mafias to infiltrate the country's…

Guatemala's Anti-Extortion Plan: A Legacy of Unkept Promises

BARRIO 18 / 29 JAN 2021

It was one of Alejandro Giammattei’s most emphatic promises. One year later, the Interior Ministry supported his strategy to reduce extortions by cutting off access to communication devices among the…

Migrants Killed in Mexico Took Treacherous Path

HOMICIDES / 28 JAN 2021

Nineteen people shot and burned in a Mexico border state near Texas is a macabre reminder that migrants being smuggled to the United States are targets of cartel violence.

Decades of Deforestation, Illegal Mining and Impunity in Nicaragua

ELITES AND CRIME / 27 JAN 2021

Nicaragua's Indio Maíz Biological Reserve, on the southern border with Costa Rica, is under assault.

Black Market Peso Exchange Evolving in United States

MEXICO / 26 JAN 2021

US federal prosecutors say a real-estate investment firm accepted millions in drug money, revealing how high-end real-estate ventures are being used to launder dirty cash at scale.

3 Unexplored Criminal Challenges Awaiting President Joe Biden

BRAZIL / 21 JAN 2021

President Joe Biden’s policy documents on Latin America tread familiar ground. But the region contains a range of other security and criminal threats that are of direct concern to the…

No Time to Wait: Biden's Security Challenges in Central America

EL SALVADOR / 20 JAN 2021

Given the challenges of a deadly pandemic, President Joe Biden could be forgiven for not having Central America’s security at the top of his agenda on day one, or 100…

MS13 Prison Releases Reinforce Potential Pact with El Salvador

BARRIO 18 / 20 JAN 2021

Though he did not have any apparent health problems, a top MS13 leader was transferred from a prison to a hospital in El Salvador -- a move approved by…

Mafia to Terrorists: How US Prosecutors Have Bent the Law to Fight MS13

BARRIO 18 / 18 JAN 2021

The recent decision by the US government to charge MS13’s top leaders in El Salvador with terrorism is either a sign of how little they understand the gang or a…

Liquid Gold - False COVID-19 Vaccines Emerge in Latin America

CONTRABAND / 18 JAN 2021

In 2021, the COVID-19 vaccine is liquid gold. As governments begin to roll out inoculation programs, criminal groups are taking advantage of the anxious interim, offering a range of scams…

6 Reasons Why the US Charged MS13 Leaders with Terrorism

BARRIO 18 / 15 JAN 2021

The US government’s terrorism case against the MS13 opens a new frontier in fighting international street gangs.

About InSight Crime

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Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

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…