Welcome to InSight Crime’s Criminal GameChangers 2019, where we highlight the most important trends in organized crime in the Americas over the course of the year. Twenty-nineteen was like one long flashback. The year saw a resurgence of criminal groups from seemingly bygone eras, the arrival of new presidents who tried to face these old problems with familiar but failed policies, the end of a decade-long judicial experiment in Central America, and two high-profile drug trials in the United States. Â
Explore the rest of our annual GameChangers series here.
Series Chapters
GameChangers 2019: Backwards to the Future
Welcome to InSight Crime’s Criminal GameChangers 2019, where we highlight the biggest trends in organized crime in the Americas.
GameChangers 2019: Mexico’s Body Count Soars as AMLO Out of Ideas
When President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in December 2018, it was clear he faced a thankless task.
GameChangers 2019: Northern Triangle Countries to Fight Corruption Alone, if at All
The year 2019 saw the end of a brief golden era when local and international forces came together to fight state and private corruption in the Northern Triangle.
GameChangers 2019: As Venezuela Sinks, Maduro’s Criminal Ties Keep Him Afloat
Venezuela remained mired in crisis throughout 2019, yet Nicolás Maduro actually consolidated his regime. How did he do it?
GameChangers 2019: Illegal Mining, Latin America’s Go-To Criminal Economy
The criminal, economic and political dynamics behind illegal gold rushes this past year in Venezuela and Ecuador were very different. But both countries illustrate the same trend: that…
GameChangers 2019: Latin America’s Top 10 Criminal Groups
Colombia’s last rebel army is now the most powerful criminal syndicate in Latin America, as it expands across Colombia and far into Venezuela, deepening its involvement in the…
GameChangers 2019: 10 Predictions for Organized Crime in 2020
The year was one of political tumult, fed in no small part by organized crime and its favored weapon: corruption.
