Drug gangs have infiltrated a Panama port through employees who smuggle cocaine into cargo containers destined for Europe -- a trafficking scheme that shows how Panama’s shipping industry is used…
Since beginning in Brazil with the “Operation Car Wash” (“Operação Lava Jato”) investigation in 2014, the Odebrecht corruption scandal has been headline news across Latin America. Presidents, lawmakers, and business…
Authorities in Panama are asking the United States for assistance in investigating an international arms trafficking network that may have included the participation of former security officials, raising questions about…
Panama is seeking to clean up its image as a financial crimes haven by passing new regulations but the process has been tarnished by its failure to address certain policy…
A new report demonstrates that although Panamanian authorities have made progress in combating money laundering, the country’s laws continue to make it an attractive destination to conceal revenue from illegal…
Major cocaine seizures in Spain, Portugal and Ecuador illustrate the European cocaine pipeline that has become a central part of the operations of Colombian drug traffickers, and which could represent…
Corruption scandals have continued to break at dizzying pace across Latin America throughout 2017, spanning politics, business, the security forces, the judiciary and even sports teams. But while the…
A Colombian drug trafficker offered juicy details on his work during a remarkable interview that provides a panoramic view of Colombia's drug trade.
The Waked money laundering investigation that has rocked the Panamanian establishment has recorded its first successful prosecution, but US authorities remain some way from proving their most serious allegations against…
A new report shows the extent to which insecurity negatively affects the daily lives of Central American citizens, and provides further evidence that crime and corruption are important factors driving…
Authorities in Panama have linked the mayor of a seemingly sleepy seaside town to a transnational drug trafficking organization, suggesting homegrown Panamanian groups may be deepening their role in…
The high and growing rate of imprisonment in the region is not leading to lower rates of violence and crime. In other words, we know that prisons are not the…
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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