Investigating organized crime is an expensive and often risky enterprise. Reaching primary sources and getting the real story involve extensive fieldwork. Please donate. Every dollar supports our mission.
DONATE NOW
Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
José Adán Salazar Umaña, alias 'Chepe Diablo'
CHEPE DIABLO
/
MAY 26, 2021
José Adán Salazar Umaña, alias "Chepe Diablo," does not fit the normal profile of a criminal leader. As the former…
Cárteles Unidos
MEXICO
/
25 MAY 2021
The Cárteles Unidos (CU) is a criminal organization that was born out of an alliance between the Cartel de Tepalcatepec,…
Shining Path
PERU
/
23 MAY 2021
The Shining Path or the Militarized Communist Party (Militarizado Partido Comunista - MPC) is the last remnant of Peru’s guerrilla…
Sinaloa Cartel
MEXICO GROUPS
/
2021-05-04
The Sinaloa Cartel, often described as the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere, is an…
Libertadores del Vichada
COLOMBIA
/
23 ABRIL DE 2021
The Libertadores del Vichada are a splinter group of the Popular Revolutionary Anti-Terrorist Army of Colombia (ERPAC) based in…
Colombia Profile
COLOMBIA
/
2021-01-21
After more than half a century of civil war and the rise and fall of drug trafficking empires, Colombia has…
Carlos Luis Revete, alias 'El Koki'
EL KOKI
/
JULY 9, 2021
Carlos Luis Revette, alias “El Koki,” is one of Venezuela’s most wanted criminals and leader of the “megabanda" that controls…
EPL
COLOMBIA GROUPS
/
2021-01-21
The dissidence of the EPL, which the Security Forces call Los Peludos, is the dissidence of the guerrilla group Popular…
Santa Ana, El Salvador
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILES
/
22 MAR 2021
Santa Ana is a key transit point for criminal groups smuggling cocaine and marijuana between El Salvador and Guatemala. It…
La Unión, El Salvador
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILES
/
22 MAR 2021
La Unión’s two ports and its Pacific coastline are routinely used by cocaine smugglers moving drugs north in boats and…
Chalatenango, El Salvador
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILES
/
22 MAR 2021
Though not a major hub for transnational organized crime, the department of Chalatenango is a transit point for migrants, arms…
Latest
Panama Serves as Latest Gateway for Drugs to Europe
COCAINE
/
3 DEC 2021
Authorities in Panama are intercepting massive loads of cocaine at ports and in coastal waters, showing how the country is increasingly becoming a major transit hub for drugs as traffickers…
4 Reasons Why Ruin of Brazil’s Amazon Keeps Getting Worse
BRAZIL
/
2 DEC 2021
InSight Crime looks at four recent environmental crises in Brazil, each showcasing a different side of the disaster in the Amazon.
Ireland Seizures Highlight Growing Role in Cocaine Trade
COCAINE
/
1 DEC 2021
Irish authorities have made a string of large cocaine seizures this year, amid signs the island is becoming increasingly important to European and Latin American traffickers…
Investigations
Chapters
#SupportFreePress
Support Our Work
Stay Informed with Weekly InSight
Get fresh updates on organized crime from across the region delivered to your inbox.
SUBSCRIBE