The Little-Known Bolivia-Asia Drug Route

The seizure of a cocaine-laced package, bound for Thailand, at an airport in Bolivia, shines light on the little-known drug trafficking route to south and southeastern Asia that relies on…

InSight Crime’s 2020 Homicide Round-Up

While unrest gripped much of Latin America in 2019, it was the coronavirus that took center stage and ripped through the region in 2020, upending everything from commercial trade to…

Bolivia Rivers Become Increasingly Popular Drug Trafficking Routes

Drug trafficking routes are starting to appear along rivers and canals in Bolivia, threatening to complicate efforts to stop the flow of cocaine to international markets.

Bolivia Dealing with Contraband Surge During Pandemic

Authorities in Bolivia this month have seized several large contraband shipments, as the country's economic struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic continue to increase demand for black market goods.

Bolivia’s New President Faces Complex Drug Scenario

The newly sworn-in president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, will face a number of pressing security challenges as he works to bring stability back to the country -- but none is…

Business As Usual? Cocaine Seizures On the Rise At Bolivia-Brazil Border

Authorities claim that rising cocaine seizures along the Bolivia-Brazil border have come as a direct result of stepped-up enforcement, but such interceptions suggest drug smuggling in the porous zone continues…

Human Smugglers Continue to Cash In on Haitian Migrants

A sophisticated human smuggling ring that illegally moved migrants from Haiti across a number of Latin American countries into Chile shows that the Caribbean nation’s crisis remains a gold mine…

Corruption and Graft Afflict Latin America’s Pandemic Response

As Latin America emerges as the new global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, corruption has proliferated, with politicians and middlemen quick to line their pockets.

Chile Sees Drug Trafficking as Most Severe National Security Threat: Survey

While Chile has one of the lowest homicide rates in Latin America and has managed to avoid major criminal groups developing there, a new survey has shown that Chileans see…

Tensions Rise in Bolivia’s Chapare as Government Escalates Anti-Drug Operations

Officials from Bolivia's interim government have stepped up drug trafficking operations over the last six months, but a focus on coca-producing communities in Cochabamba is creating tension with law enforcement…

Ucayali, Peru’s Drug Trafficking Gateway to Bolivia and Brazil

The coronavirus pandemic has halted trafficking in Peru and sent cocaine prices plummeting, but drug seizures continue in the border department of Ucayali, a jungle region that has become a major smuggling corridor…

Bolivia Investigations Target Members of Evo Morales’ MAS Party

Since Bolivia’s botched elections in October 2019, numerous high-standing politicians and law enforcement officials associated with the Movement to Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo – MAS) party have fled the…