Investigations

The production of fentanyl and methamphetamine requires key ingredients known as precursor chemicals. Because of their illicit uses, these substances are highly regulated around the world.   Yet synthetic drug…

Social leaders in Putumayo, Colombia, hope coca crop substitution can bring opportunities to communities. But supporting it may mean death.

To Desafio, the Barrio 18 gang in Honduras was everything. It provided a family, a sense of belonging. Until his life grew increasingly violent.

Marijuana legalization has expanded greatly across the United States, the primary destination for illicit drugs produced in Mexico. Today, two-thirds of the US population now has legal access to medicinal…

Italy’s ’Ndrangheta Mafia has capitalized on South America’s cocaine boom to secure its role as one of the most influential drug trafficking groups in the world. Based in the southern…

This investigation exposes gender-based violence in Tibú, a Colombian town located on the border with Venezuela that serves as a drug trafficking corridor for several illegal armed groups. In 2021,…

Environmental crime respects no borders. This investigation -- conducted with Igarapé Institute -- reveals how wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, illicit gold mining, and slash-and-burn land clearance are spreading across five…

Rodolfo Delgado, El Salvador's Attorney-General, may have worrying connections to an alleged money launderer and MS13 collaborator.

For twenty years, Venezuela was a refuge for Colombia’s Marxist guerrillas, a place where they could hide out from the military, run criminal economies, and carry out political work with…

Investigations The Jungle Patrol: Fighting Illegal Loggers on the Guatemala-Mexico Border Timber Trafficking 28…

The Dominican Republic prides itself on its openness to the world. As one of the first countries to open up during the COVID-19 pandemic, it seeks to be ever welcoming…

In South America's oceans, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels are hoovering marine life and harvesting endangered sharks for their fins. This investigation – the second of a multi-part…

This series ­– the first installment of an investigation shining light into the murky waters of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing – focuses on law enforcement challenges and IUU…

Over the last two years, InSight Crime has interviewed more than a dozen Colombian drug traffickers and former paramilitaries who worked directly with “Memo Fantasma” or “Will the Ghost,” going…

The MS13 gang and the Pentecostal Church appear to be polar opposites. But some similarities unite them. Both demand rigid discipline and utter devotion. And, within their power structure, they…

Peru’s 70 million hectares of Amazon forest are being razed at an alarming rate. This investigation reveals the range of culprits behind the devastation: from illegal gold miners who leave…

The illegal trafficking of cattle, across country borders, has spread north from the natural reserves of Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, to enter the food supply chain in Mexico and even…

In 2013, Nicolás Maduro became president of Venezuela following the death of his charismatic predecessor Hugo Chávez. Since then, the country’s cocaine trade has undergone revolutionary changes. Today, Venezuela is…

This investigation tells the stories of Carolina and Karen, two survivors of sexual violence by Hernán Giraldo, one of Colombia’s most infamous paramilitary commanders. They are part of over 200…

From a small band of deportees forcibly returned from Los Angeles, the MS13 has grown into a hydra. It is at once a social circle that provides protection and belonging,…

This investigation looks into a contentious deal between a major pharmaceutical firm and the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS). Following the deal, which prosecutors said the IGSS greenlit despite the…

This investigation exposes how the Maduro regime’s attempts to control Venezuela’s mining heartland in the state of Bolívar has led to criminal chaos, as guerrilla groups, heavily armed gangs and…

Colombian rebel groups long ago set up shop in Venezuela, seeking sanctuary beyond the reach of the US-back Colombian military. The Chavista regime welcomed them as allies against an “imperialist”…

The Amazon Basin is being ravaged at an accelerating rate by organized criminal groups and "legal" enterprises alike, as deforestation soars and biodiversity suffers. Illegal mining, logging, wildlife trafficking, land…

Nicaragua has long been able to keep homicide rates down, burnishing the country’s anti-crime reputation. But as these case studies illustrate, the most sophisticated criminal groups often operate with a…

Wildlife trafficking goes deeper than commonly understood. Deeper under the sea in Honduras where sea cucumbers are fished by the ton to feed demand in Asia. Deeper into Colombia's hinterlands…

As in the darkest days of Colombia’s civil conflict, armed groups across the country continue to enlist and exploit teenagers. In this investigation about the recruitment of minors in Colombia by…

When Mexico’s drug cartels forced Colombian traffickers out of the US cocaine market, they seized control of the most coveted prize in the global drug trade. But the smartest traffickers…

In this investigative series, InSight Crime tells the story of how coveted border territories have been transformed into fertile breeding grounds for corruption in Central America’s Northern Triangle and the…

Based on 18 months of field work in Brazil and Paraguay, this investigation explores the First Capital Command (Primeiro Comando da Capital – PCC), the hemisphere’s premier prison gang and…

In San Salvador’s bustling Historic Center, nothing gets done without going through the gangs. The notorious Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) and Barrio 18 street gangs have steadily tightened their grip on…

Illegal logging has become one of Latin America’s most frequent yet under-reported criminal economies. In this investigation, InSight Crime presents its findings into the dynamics of timber trafficking in Colombia,…

From cooks and coca harvesters to owners of their drug empires or trafficking and smuggling networks, women operate in a versatile manner, challenging traditional stereotypes about how they participate in…

Drug traffickers today realize that their best protection is not a private army but anonymity. This is the story of “Memo Fantasma” or “Will the Ghost,” who started life in…

Over the last decade, Ecuador has quietly emerged as a key piece of the global drug trade, with up to a third of Colombia’s record cocaine production now exported through…

Colombia’s peace process is at a critical stage. A growing number of FARC dissidents have taken up arms again, raising the question – is the country condemned to see history…

Many victims, especially those in the Northern Triangle nations of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, feel powerless to fight back against extortion. The fear generated by the powerful street gangs…

Extortion in Central America comes in many forms and targets different victims. The actors behind it also vary, as does the way in which these illicit earnings exchange hands. In…

This investigative series looks at the role that Mexico and its cartels have played in making the lethal opioid fentanyl a growing threat in the United States. While China accounts…

This three-part investigative series looks at how the last three winners of the presidency in Guatemala financed their campaigns using hidden funds from drug traffickers to big businessmen. This means…

This investigation, the product of three years of field research, looks at the exponential growth of organized crime in Venezuela and the consequences of this for the region.

In Central America’s Northern Triangle, impunity can be won with money, contacts and coercion. And the same rules apply whether you’re a high-level government official or a narco “kingpin.”…

The Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) is the hemisphere’s largest, most formidable and increasingly its most sophisticated street gang. This ongoing investigative series tackles its evolution from various perspectives. About this Project…

In Central America’s Northern Triangle, organized crime has permeated national politics by corrupting local governments. This series presents the stories of three mayors in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, exploring…

In Honduras, most homicides are committed using a firearm. This special investigation tracks how those weapons get into the hands of the killers that make this country one of the…

After the capture of Zetas boss “Z40,” Nuevo Laredo is bracing itself for the worst. This investigation breaks down what makes the city such an important trafficking corridor, and what…

Emerging from the ashes of Colombia’s bloody paramilitary counter-insurgency in the mid-2000s came a new type of criminal network Colombia’s authorities christened “bandas criminales” (BACRIM) or criminal bands. The BACRIM…

This project explores the challenges and lessons of disaggregating gang-related and drug trafficking-related murders.

This series of five case studies and one policy report explores how government mismanagement, neglect and corruption have made the jails in the region powerful incubators of organized crime.

Guatemala’s elites are a mix of businessmen, politicians and security forces who, as these case studies show, regularly interact with organized crime in order to maintain and expand their power…

Colombia’s civil war has raged for generations and, as this series shows, has helped forge deep and lasting bonds between the country’s elites and organized crime. About this Project Elites…

In a new report based on extensive field research, InSight Crime and the Asociacion para una Sociedad mas Justa have traced how Honduras’ two largest gangs, the MS13 and the…

Honduras elites have worked with organized crime for decades. These case studies illustrate the deep connections they share in business, politics and even security matters. About this Project Elites and…

Elites and organized crime cross paths in more than one way. This introductory section explains how and why we decided to spend three years investigating this dynamic in four different…

As Evo wins another five years in power, he faces the reality that his country is turning into a center for drug trafficking in South America. Can he stop transnational…

Special interest groups have co-opted Guatemala’s justice system and blocked the efforts of those trying to clean things up. InSight Crime investigates the backroom players who are pulling the strings.

The FARC is the hemisphere’s oldest and largest insurgency. InSight Crime explores the group’s roots, its growth and its efforts to strike a peace deal with the government.

The mad scramble for criminal power in the aftermath of the demobilization of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) is over. The Urabeños, or as they prefer to call…

Well-armed vigilantes in Mexico’s Michoacan state have helped authorities dismantle a powerful criminal organization, but now the government may have a more difficult task: keeping Michoacan safe from these same…

Since the end of El Salvador’s civil war, the country’s police has become a key player in the underworld. This series of five articles explore the dark ties between criminal…

After the lower house passed the controversial marijuana bill, Uruguay is poised to become the first country on the planet to regulate the production, sale, and distribution of the drug.

Whether it is sustainable or not, the truce — which the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the Barrio 18 put into place March 2012 — has changed the conventional thinking about…

The possibility of ending 50 years of civil conflict is in sight. While the majority of Colombians want to see peace, for themselves and their children, the enemies of the…

As a bitter war between rival cartels grinds to an end, Ciudad Juarez has lost the title of world murder capital, and is moving towards something more like normality.

The Zetas’ top leader is dead and the group is seemingly splitting into pieces, but they remain Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s biggest security challenge. In this context, InSight Crime…

The growth of organized crime in Mexico and Central America has led to an increase in violence and insecurity across the region, posing challenges to citizens, public security forces, and,…

In a collaboration with four media organizations in Latin America, InSight Crime looks at the role of organized crime in driving displacement and slavery in the region — and what…

In a collaboration with four media organizations in Latin America, InSight Crime looks at the role of organized crime in driving displacement and slavery in the region — and what…

InSight Crime investigates how the death of a popular singer has highlighted the links of Nicaragua’s acclaimed police with organized crime in the country and how they fuel drug trafficking…

Though it is not on the agenda of the Sixth Summit of the Americas, to be held April 14-15 in Colombia, the question of drug legalization will be on everyone’s…

In this three-part series, investigator Michael Porth examines the steps that Costa Rica, long one of the most peaceful countries in the region, is taking to combat organized crime.

The Zetas, Mexico’s most feared and violent criminal organization, have moved operations to Guatemala, penetrating local police forces and the military. They have made alliances with locals and are redefining…

The GunRunners joint investigative project — which includes Frontline, the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Investigative Reporting Project — tracks the entire distribution chain of illegal arms trafficking from…