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Judge Rules Memo Fantasma Will Remain in Colombia Prison

AUC / 28 OCT 2021

Accused paramilitary drug lord Guillermo León Acevedo, alias "Memo Fantasma," will remain in a high-security Colombian prison, where he has been jailed for the past four months. Acevedo's lawyers…

Top Colombian Paramilitary Commander Testifies About Memo Fantasma

AUC / 27 OCT 2021

New documents in the case against accused paramilitary drug lord Guillermo León Acevedo, alias “Memo Fantasma,” reveal that former top Colombian paramilitary commander Salvatore Mancuso spoke to prosecutors about him,…

Last Man Standing: US Indictments Tell the Tale of Colombia's Otoniel

AUC / 26 OCT 2021

Accused Colombian trafficker Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias “Otoniel,” has been on the radar of US prosecutors for more than a decade, and indictments are open against him in three US…

Memo Fantasma Properties in Colombia Used to Compensate Victims of Violence

AUC / 15 SEP 2021

Dozens of properties and other assets seized from Memo Fantasma, one of Colombia’s foremost drug traffickers, will be used to provide support for those who have suffered from violence in…

Exploring Illegal Mining in Colombia’s Amazon

AUC / 8 SEP 2021

As gold prices have skyrocketed, criminal groups once solely dedicated to the trafficking of drugs and arms have moved into illegal mining.

Pablo Escobar

AUC / 30 AUG 2021

Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was the pioneer in industrial-scale cocaine trafficking.

Invisible Drug Kingpin 'Don Lucho' Assassinated in Colombia

AUC / 16 JUL 2021

One of Colombia's foremost drug traffickers and money launderers has been assassinated in Bogotá, leaving important unanswered questions about his own criminal past and who might have been after him.

Memo Fantasma, Colombia’s Underworld Ghost, is Captured in Bogotá

AUC / 25 JUN 2021

Guillermo León Acevedo Giraldo, alias “Memo Fantasma,” a former paramilitary leader and longtime drug trafficker who escaped prosecution for decades by living behind a façade of legitimate business dealings, was…

Demobilized But Not Disarmed, Colombia Paramilitaries Continue Extorting

AUC / 31 MAY 2021

Several demobilized members of a notorious right-wing paramilitary group in Colombia passed themselves off as a new self-defense force and extorted locals, highlighting how these armed actors continue to terrorize…

Los Pachenca Emerge After Return of Paramilitary Boss to Colombia

AUC / 18 MAR 2021

In the wake of former paramilitary leader Hernán Giraldo's deportation to Colombia, an armed group linked to him has reappeared in a coastal region he once controlled, raising fears of…

The Italian Mafia and the Move Upstream

AUC / 9 FEB 2021

Operation ‘Tiburón Galloway’ began as a local investigation by prosecutors in the Italian region of Calabria in 2001, but quickly snowballed into a multinational, multiagency investigation.

The Ghost Lives the High Life in Madrid

AUC / 29 MAR 2020

The Ghost, a paramilitary drug lord, has moved to Madrid with his millions of drug dollars. He has dodged the Colombian justice system and perhaps secured a pass from the…

Tracking the Ghost: Follow the Money

AUC / 29 MAR 2020

“The Ghost” had fled Medellín, tied off loose ends in the underworld and perhaps suspended his drug trafficking activities. He disappeared with millions of dollars. That kind of money is…

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Venezuela El Dorado Investigation Makes Headlines

3 DEC 2021

InSight Crime's investigation into the trafficking of illegal gold in Venezuela's Amazon region generated impact on both social media and in the press. Besides being republished and mentioned by several…

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Gender and Investigative Techniques Focus of Workshops

26 NOV 2021

On November 23-24, InSight Crime conducted a workshop called “How to Cover Organized Crime: Investigation Techniques and A Focus on Gender.” The session convened reporters and investigators from a dozen…

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InSight Crime Names Two New Board Members

19 NOV 2021

In recent weeks, InSight Crime added two new members to its board. Joy Olson is the former executive director of the Washington Office on Latin America…

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Senate Commission in Paraguay Cites InSight Crime

12 NOV 2021

InSight Crime’s reporting and investigations often reach the desks of diplomats, security officials and politicians. The latest example occurred in late October during a commission of Paraguay's Senate that tackled…

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Backing Investigative Journalism Around the Globe

5 NOV 2021

InSight Crime was a proud supporter of this year's Global Investigative Journalism Conference, which took place November 1 through November 5 and convened nearly 2,000 journalists…

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