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Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
Ocotepeque, Honduras
COCAINE
/
16 FEB 2021
Corruptible customs officials and porous borders facilitate the smuggling of migrants and drugs from Ocotepeque into Guatemala, along with flows of…
La Paz, Honduras
ELITES AND CRIME
/
16 FEB 2021
The department of La Paz does not house any major transnational criminal economies or established criminal actors.
Santa Bárbara, Honduras
COCAINE
/
16 FEB 2021
Santa Bárbara sees its fair share of narcotics seizures and has played host to major drug trafficking groups such as…
Lempira, Honduras
ELITES AND CRIME
/
16 FEB 2021
Lempira is not a major hub for organized criminal activity but is nonetheless an important transit point for illicit narcotics…
Honduras Profile
HONDURAS
/
FEBRUARY 15, 2021
Honduras, long one of the poorest countries in Latin America, is now also among the most violent and crime-ridden. The…
Escritório do Crime
BRAZIL GROUPS
/
15 FEB 2021
Escritório do Crime (Office of Crime) is one of the largest and most powerful militia groups in Brazil’s second-largest city,…
Chiquimula, Guatemala
COCAINE
/
22 JAN 2021
Chiquimula is a transit point and hub for drug trafficking. It also has marijuana production and a vibrant contraband and…
Izabal, Guatemala
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILES
/
22 JAN 2021
Izabal is one of the most important transit hubs for cocaine being smuggled from Honduras into Guatemala by land, as…
Zacapa, Guatemala
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILES
/
22 JAN 2021
In the department of Zacapa, long a transit point for cocaine and marijuana bound for Mexico and the US, drug…
Jutiapa, Guatemala
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILES
/
22 JAN 2021
Jutiapa is a transit point for narcotics shipments and a hotspot for illegal firearm possession. Criminal groups smuggle illicit weapons…
Border Security Colectivo
VENEZUELA GROUPS
/
SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
The Border Security Colectivo (Colectivo de Seguridad Fronteriza – CSF) is a state-supported irregular militia group based in the Colombian…
Cartel of the Suns
CARTEL OF THE SUNS
/
MAY 14, 2022
The “Cartel of the Suns” (Cartel de los Soles) is the term used to describe the shadowy groups inside Venezuela’s…
Latest
Ecuador's Police Being Assassinated in Record Numbers
ECUADOR
/
16 MAY 2022
Ecuadorian gangs are taking another page from the playbook of crime groups in Mexico and Colombia, stepping up targeted killings of police officers in drug trafficking hotspots.
Will Soaring Arrests in El Salvador Overwhelm its Prisons?
BARRIO 18
/
16 MAY 2022
As part of his sweeping gang crackdown, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has overseen the mass imprisonment of tens of thousands of people, potentially jeopardizing recent efforts to mitigate overcrowding…
Indigenous Communities in Rural Mexico Get No Help Against Constant Criminal Threats
HUMAN RIGHTS
/
13 MAY 2022
The death of two indigenous leaders in Guerrero, Mexico, has again drawn attention to the government’s negligent protection of indigenous communities targeted by criminal groups throughout Mexico. In a…
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