Though a relatively minor player in the transnational drug trade, El Salvador's overland smuggling routes have undergone a moderate revival and some factions of the country's largest street gang --…
It was one of Alejandro Giammattei’s most emphatic promises. One year later, the Interior Ministry supported his strategy to reduce extortions by cutting off access to communication devices among the…
Though he did not have any apparent health problems, a top MS13 leader was transferred from a prison to a hospital in El Salvador -- a move approved by…
The recent decision by the US government to charge MS13’s top leaders in El Salvador with terrorism is either a sign of how little they understand the gang or a…
The US government’s terrorism case against the MS13 opens a new frontier in fighting international street gangs.
Welcome to InSight Crime’s Criminal GameChangers 2020, where we highlight the most important trends in organized crime in the Americas over the course of the year. …
A recent police raid in the eastern part of El Salvador, in which a mayor and several municipal and judicial officials were arrested, is the most recent example of an…
Salvadoran authorities recently claimed that an anti-gang campaign has led to thousands of weapons being seized. But the numbers and types of weapons seized are unlikely to make a real…
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has vehemently denied swapping favors with gangs, but a slew of government officials and a person working directly with the government say there is an…
For San Salvador resident Humberto Reyes, a sunny morning in the Historic Center’s sprawling markets began with two shots in the back of the head.
This is the second part of a three-part series on San Salvador’s Historic Center, the heart of the country’s informal urban markets and a long-time bastion of the street gangs.
It was late 2016 and officials in San Salvador were preparing for the grand opening of a sparkling new market in the city’s Historic Center.
About InSight Crime
InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board
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…
InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan
InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…
InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation
Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…
Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper
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…
InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate
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…
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