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 organizations and the government’s key crime-fighting arm.
Corruption in El Salvador: Politicians, Police and Transportistas
EL SALVADOR
/
6 MAR 2014
Chapter 1
The Infiltrators: Corruption in El Salvador's Police
CHEPE LUNA
/
21 FEB 2014
Ricardo Mauricio Menesses Orellana liked horses, and the Pasaquina rodeo was a great opportunity to enjoy a party. He was joined at the event -- which was taking place in the…
Chapter 2
'Chepe Luna,' the Police and the Art of Escape
CHEPE LUNA
/
21 FEB 2014
The United States -- which through its antinarcotics, judicial and police attaches was very familiar with the routes used for smuggling, and especially those used for people trafficking and understood…
Chapter 3
Operation Chameleon in El Salvador: Anatomy of a Failure
EL SALVADOR
/
5 MAR 2014
The experience with Jose Natividad "Chepe" Luna -- the drug trafficker who had eluded a giant dragnet in 2004 -- had demonstrated that the leaks from the National Police of…
Chapter 4
How an El Salvador Drug Trafficker Smuggled Cocaine Into the US
EL SALVADOR
/
6 MAR 2014
The woman phoned the office of the antinarcotics division (DAN) in Bolivar, in El Salvador's La Union province, on August 13, 2008, at 1:30 PM. Investigators later established that what…
Chapter 5
The Fixer and El Salvador's Missed Opportunity
EL SALVADOR
/
6 MAR 2014
In the photograph, they are both smiling. In the foreground, on the left hand side, a man in a short-sleeved buttoned white shirt, jeans and a metal watch, holds a…
Related Content
BARRIO 18
/
3 MAY 2016
El Salvador's government has claimed credit for a dramatic drop in homicides last month, but the country's powerful criminal gangs…
COLOMBIA
/
25 SEP 2012
Forced displacement has a long history in Latin America. For decades - and even centuries in some countries - entire…
BARRIO 18
/
26 APR 2019
The notorious Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) and 18th Street Gang (Barrio 18) are behind the majority of extortion rackets in the…
About InSight Crime
THE ORGANIZATION
Venezuela's Cocaine Revolution Met With Uproar
6 MAY 2022
On May 4, InSight Crime launched its latest investigation, Venezuela’s Cocaine Revolution¸ accompanied by a virtual panel on its findings. The takeaways from this three-year effort, including the fact that Venezuela…
THE ORGANIZATION
Venezuela Drug Trafficking Investigation and InDepth Gender Coverage
29 APR 2022
On May 4, InSight Crime will be publishing The Cocaine Revolution in Venezuela, a groundbreaking investigation into how the Venezuelan government regulates the cocaine trade in the country. An accompanying event,…
THE ORGANIZATION
InDepth Coverage of Juan Orlando Hernández
22 APR 2022
Ever since Juan Orlando Hernández was elected president of Honduras in 2014, InSight Crime has provided coverage of every twist and turn during his rollercoaster time in office, amid growing…
THE ORGANIZATION
Venezuela's Cocaine Revolution
15 APR 2022
On May 4th, InSight Crime will publish a groundbreaking investigation on drug trafficking in Venezuela. A product of three years of field research across the country, the study uncovers cocaine production in…
LA ORGANIZACIÓN
Widespread Coverage of InSight Crime MS13 Investigation
8 APR 2022
In a joint investigation with La Prensa Gráfica, InSight Crime recently revealed that four of the MS13’s foremost leaders had been quietly released from…
#SupportFreePress
Support Our Work
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
Stay Informed with Weekly InSight
Get fresh updates on organized crime from across the region delivered to your inbox.
SUBSCRIBE