Business As Usual? Cocaine Seizures On the Rise At Bolivia-Brazil Border
Authorities claim that rising cocaine seizures along the Bolivia-Brazil border have come as a direct result of stepped-up enforcement, but such interceptions suggest drug smuggling in the porous zone continues…
Coronavirus Yet to Halt Peru’s Contraband Cigarette Trade
Police in Peru have recently seized large quantities of contraband cigarettes in one of the capital’s most populous districts, in what is just the latest reflection of the regional boom…
Destroy, Rinse, Repeat - Peru's Illegal Mining Struggles in Áncash
Peruvian authorities have destroyed yet another illegal mining site in one of the nation’s most popular national parks, but the ongoing failure of official efforts to target this trade strongly…
Crashed Plane in Colombia May Be Example of 'Cloned Craft'
A small plane that crashed outside the Colombian capital had the same registration number as a drug plane seized in Honduras a decade ago -- a likely case of a…
Dutch Ship Makes Waves with Record Cocaine Seizures in Caribbean
A patrol ship in the Dutch Caribbean has caught a ton of cocaine in a rapid series of seizures, displaying how regularly drug shipments traverse the area on their way…
Lost Property? Narco-Asset Seizures in Mexico Face Renewed Challenges
Recent allegations of theft, lost property and institutionalized corruption suggest Andrés Manuel López Obrador's well-publicized auctions of criminal assets are being undermined by a wider misuse of said belongings, hampering…
Mexico to Close Prison Infamous for Narco Parties, ‘El Chapo’ Escape
A federal prison that housed some of Mexico’s most powerful crime bosses will shut down, marking the end for a facility that saw everything from high-profile escapes to lavish parties…
Costa Rica Passes Law to Destroy Illegal Runways on Private Property
A new law in Costa Rica, that looks to destroy illegal landingstrips, could provide an opportunity to control flights and close the country’s airways for drug traffickers. Nevertheless, reducing the…
How Organized Crime Networks Are Using Drones to Their Advantage
Criminal groups increasingly deploying drones -- for purposes ranging from surveillance to reported armed attacks of rivals -- has provoked a strong government response in Mexico. But will it be…
Yet More Negligence Uncovered in Mexico’s Handling of Ayotzinapa Case
A new report says that authorities in Mexico failed to send bone fragments found in connection to the Ayotzinapa investigation for analysis or further investigate the area where they were…
Panama’s Bocas del Toro Archipelago New Cocaine Seizure Hotspot
Authorities in Panama’s northwestern province of Bocas del Toro have intercepted a string of vessels carrying large amounts of cocaine, a sign that traffickers are using the archipelago as…
US Demands Mexico Double Down on Hardline Anti-Drug Approach
The United States is calling for authorities in Mexico to intensify their crack down on the country’s organized crime groups, doubling down on strategies that have failed to produce any…
About InSight Crime
Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua Becomes Truly Transnational
This week, InSight Crime published a deep dive into the total control that Venezuelan mega-gang, Tren de Aragua, has over the lives of those it smuggles between Venezuela and Chile…
Turkish Traffickers Delivering Latin American Cocaine to Persian Gulf
Last week, InSight Crime published the second half of an investigation piecing together the emerging role of Turkish cocaine traffickers in supplying Russia and the Persian Gulf, which are among…
Turkey as a Lynchpin in European Cocaine Pipeline
InSight Crime is extending its investigation into the cocaine pipeline to Europe, and tracking the growing connections between Latin American drug traffickers and European criminal organizations. This led us to…
Memo Fantasma Coverage Gets Worldwide Attention
Guillermo Acevedo, the former Colombian drug lord and paramilitary commander better known as Memo Fantasma, may soon be allowed to leave prison. Since first revealing the identity of Memo Fantasma…
Who Are Memo Fantasma and Sergio Roberto de Carvalho?
Inside the criminal career of Memo Fantasma In March 2020, InSight Crime revealed the identity and whereabouts of Memo Fantasma, a paramilitary commander and drug trafficker living in…
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