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
EL SALVADOR
/
7 JUN 2019
The MS13 in Honduras has gone from shaking down motorcycle taxi drivers to owning fleets of the bikes and controlling…
BARRIO 18
/
18 FEB 2016
An ongoing trial in El Salvador has included assertions that a gang leader was in regular contact with politicians and…
BARRIO 18
/
24 AUG 2015
A recent prison massacre in El Salvador is indicative of the government's problematic response to the nation's ongoing security…
About InSight Crime
THE ORGANIZATION
Strategic Communications Manager Job Description
12 FEB 2021
InSight Crime is looking for a full-time strategic communications manager. This person needs to be able to work in a fast-paced world of daily news, high-profile investigations, national and international…
THE ORGANIZATION
We Have Updated Our Website
4 FEB 2021
Welcome to our new home page. We have revamped the site to create a better display and reader experience.
THE ORGANIZATION
InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area
ARGENTINA
/
25 JAN 2021
Through several rounds of extensive field investigations, our researchers have analyzed and mapped out the main illicit economies and criminal groups present in 39 border departments spread across the six countries of study – the Northern Triangle trio of Guatemala, Honduras, and El…
BRIEF
InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize
COLOMBIA
/
20 NOV 2020
The staff at InSight Crime was awarded the prestigious Simón Bolívar national journalism prize in Colombia for its two-year investigation into the drug trafficker known as “Memo Fantasma,” which was…
ANALYSIS
InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works
COLOMBIA
/
12 NOV 2020
This project began 10 years ago as an effort to address a problem: the lack of daily coverage, investigative stories and analysis of organized crime in the Americas. …
Stay Informed with InSight Weekly
Get fresh updates on organized crime from across the region delivered to your inbox.
SUBSCRIBE