All About Bagdad

NEWS

Safehouses, Bodyguards and Fake ID - Panama's Top Drug Trafficker on the Run

BAGDAD / 15 FEB 2022

The leader of Panama’s largest drug trafficking group has been arrested in Costa Rica and is set to be extradited to the United States, although this is unlikely to heavily…

BAGDAD / 20 JAN 2022

With ports around the world seizing more cocaine than ever, drug traffickers have come up with a new method to access the drug: infiltrate the ports by hiding inside empty…

BAGDAD / 3 NOV 2021

Two attacks in recent days against gang members in Panama City have raised alarm bells that acts of shocking violence could become a regular occurrence in the country.

BAGDAD / 9 SEP 2021

As Panama struggles to contain an ever-growing flow of cocaine, a recent operation has revealed the extent to which officials are involved in facilitating the drug trade.

BAGDAD / 10 JUN 2021

Panama’s northern province of Colón, sitting at the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal, is seeing a truly staggering increase in drug seizures, raising questions about its role in the…

BAGDAD / 2021-05-05

Bagdad, along with its rival Calor Calor, is one of Panama’s two main gang federations, consisting of 30-40 smaller gangs that work together to fulfill drug transportation for transnational organized…

BAGDAD / 26 APR 2021

US counterdrug agents and authorities in Panama have recently targeted one of the country's largest gangs, revealing its ability to coordinate drug shipments northward. But the group, known as Bagdad,…

BAGDAD / 26 NOV 2020

A burst of attempted contraband smuggling into Panama’s largest prison complex has challenged governments claims about the success of recent reforms in bolstering security within the country’s penitentiaries, as well…

BAGDAD / 8 JUN 2020

Homicides in western Panama have surged in a cycle of revenge killings, as one of the country's largest gangs struggles to maintain power and control over increasing drug flows.

BAGDAD / 9 JAN 2017

When it comes to Central America, all eyes are usually on the Northern Triangle. But 2016 saw local organized crime in Costa Rica and Panama -- traditionally oases…

BAGDAD / 19 OCT 2016

Recent murder statistics from Panama reveal that the most violent areas of the country coincide with those where gang presence is strongest.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

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This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

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InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

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8 SEP 2023

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Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

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InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…