GameChangers 2022

GAMECHANGERS / 22 DEC 2022


To explore and reveal the most important criminal trends of the past year, InSight Crime presents its six-part Criminal GameChangers series, with specific chapters dedicated to the rising influence of the Chapitos in Mexico; the impact of El Salvador’s savage, if popular, crackdown; the bold roll of the dice made by Colombia’s new president; and the consolidation of power in the hands of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.

Chapter 1

GameChangers 2022: ‘Pink Cocaine,’ Cross-Border Battles, and the Frustrating Fight Against Mafia States

GAMECHANGERS / 22 DEC 2022

InSight Crime's GameChangers 2022 looks back at the most consequential criminal stories across Latin America this year.

Chapter 2

GameChangers 2022: How the Chapitos Became Hyper-Capitalist Narcos

CHAPITOS / 23 DEC 2022

The Chapitos are winning the internal war for the Sinaloa Cartel and doing it in a different way than their father ever considered.

Chapter 3

GameChangers 2022: El Salvador's Gang Crackdown Has Steep Human Rights Cost

BARRIO 18 / 26 DEC 2022

El Salvador's ruthless gang crackdown has led to mass incarceration and human rights abuses. But will it be replicated elsewhere?…

Chapter 4

GameChangers 2022: Maduro Seeks to Be Venezuela’s Criminal Kingmaker

GAMECHANGERS / 27 DEC 2022

After a tough few years for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, 2022 was spent reinforcing his power in the political and criminal realms.

Chapter 5

GameChangers 2022: Could 'Total Peace' Lead to Disarmament of Colombia's Armed Groups?

COLOMBIA / 28 DEC 2022

Colombian President Gustavo Petro's Total Peace plan faces a very tough road ahead. Can over 20 criminal groups really all commit to peace?…

Chapter 6

GameChangers 2022: Drug Bonanza Amid Prohibition Challenges in 2023

GAMECHANGERS / 29 DEC 2022

The US is losing allies in Latin America just as production of cocaine, fentanyl, and other synthetic drugs is going through the roof.

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BRAZIL / 9 JAN 2018

Latin America’s crime landscape continued to evolve this year, driven by record production of cocaine in South America.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…

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