The arrest of Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel boss, “El Marro,” was welcomed by Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who was in need of a security win. But this capture…
Oil thieves in Mexico have diversified yet again and are now sidestepping security forces by utilizing hoses buried just out of sight under ground to transport stolen fuel, highlighting ongoing…
Despite having the world's largest oil reserves, years of mismanagement and theft have led Venezuela to a bizarre turn of events. Gasoline is so scarce in the country that, in…
Mexico's Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel has found itself on the ropes, fending off authorities and attacks by the rival Jalisco Cartel and the government.
Crude oil siphoned from Colombia's pipelines is increasingly being processed by clandestine refineries that manufacture a low-quality fuel, known as "pategrillo," used to make cocaine.
For over twenty years, Francisco Guízar Pavón consolidated an empire in central Mexico built on stolen fuel to become the “King of Gasoline” but his murder last month marked the…
The seizure of an Italian oil supply vessel by pirates in the Gulf of Mexico in November, in which two crew were injured, was but the latest in a series…
Oil theft cases in Costa have hit record levels in 2019 and increased nearly six fold in the past three years -- evidence that the fuel theft racket has grown dramatically…
While the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel has faced the brunt of the Mexican government’s war against oil theft, it has used its clout in the state of Guanajuato to…
A massive flow of smuggled fuel from Ecuador into Colombia is benefiting drug traffickers who use it to produce cocaine and to gas up boats moving drugs.
With Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador touting his successes against oil theft, criminal groups have taken advantage of a similar opportunity: gas theft.
Despite a crackdown by the authorities, fuel theft continues in Cuba as the island faces shortages aggravated by sanctions on its principal supplier, Venezuela…
About InSight Crime
Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua Becomes Truly Transnational
This week, InSight Crime published a deep dive into the total control that Venezuelan mega-gang, Tren de Aragua, has over the lives of those it smuggles between Venezuela and Chile…
Turkish Traffickers Delivering Latin American Cocaine to Persian Gulf
Last week, InSight Crime published the second half of an investigation piecing together the emerging role of Turkish cocaine traffickers in supplying Russia and the Persian Gulf, which are among…
Turkey as a Lynchpin in European Cocaine Pipeline
InSight Crime is extending its investigation into the cocaine pipeline to Europe, and tracking the growing connections between Latin American drug traffickers and European criminal organizations. This led us to…
Memo Fantasma Coverage Gets Worldwide Attention
Guillermo Acevedo, the former Colombian drug lord and paramilitary commander better known as Memo Fantasma, may soon be allowed to leave prison. Since first revealing the identity of Memo Fantasma…
Who Are Memo Fantasma and Sergio Roberto de Carvalho?
Inside the criminal career of Memo Fantasma In March 2020, InSight Crime revealed the identity and whereabouts of Memo Fantasma, a paramilitary commander and drug trafficker living in…
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