Prisons
Painting the picture of the least understood, and potentially most potent, part of the criminal underworld.
News Analysis
Sexual Abuse Plagues Women’s Detention Facilities in Venezuela
The shooting death of a 19-year-old woman in a Venezuela police holding cell has revealed that women in the jail were being systematically forced to have sex with officers, underscoring…
The Fuel Not the Fuse: Drug Trafficking and Ecuador’s Prison Violence
Drug trafficking and transnational organized crime have been blamed for deadly riots among rival gangs in Ecuador's prisons, but the carnage has more to do with how the country's gangs…
Prison Break Lays Bare Haiti Gang Leader’s Ties to Elites
A gang leader killed after a deadly Haiti prison break may have been sprung intentionally — raising further concerns about toxic relationships between gangs and political elites in the run-up…
Ecuador Confronts Unprecedented Levels of Prison Violence
Long-simmering tensions between prison gangs in Ecuador exploded this week, leaving at least 75 people brutally killed in four prisons across the country.
Guatemala’s Anti-Extortion Plan: A Legacy of Unkept Promises
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…
MS13 Prison Releases Reinforce Potential Pact with El Salvador
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…
Investigations
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