All About Brazil Militias

NEWS

How Religious Militias and Warrior Mentalities Mix in Rio de Janeiro

BRAZIL / 5 SEP 2022

Brazil's city of Rio de Janeiro is suffering a major security crisis, as gender and religion affect organized crime in the city.

BRAZIL / 30 MAY 2022

A continuing campaign of terror against Red Command neighborhoods in Rio has done little but kill dozens of people.

BRAZIL / 25 MAR 2022

In many of Rio de Janeiro's favelas, criminal organizations are setting exorbitant prices for gas cylinders, knowing that residents will have no choice but to pay up.

BRAZIL / 27 JAN 2022

Residents in Rio de Janeiro's marginalized favelas are contending with yet another massive police operation promising to deliver a true state presence. That is, once the territory has been reclaimed…

BRAZIL / 17 JAN 2022

The death of a top Red Command leader near Rio de Janeiro raises questions about the success of coordinated attempts to weaken one of Brazil’s toughest gangs, both materially and…

BRAZIL / 16 JUN 2021

Rio de Janeiro’s foremost militia leader has been gunned down by police, potentially shattering the belief that militias in the city were protected due to connections with authorities. But was…

BRAZIL / 10 JUN 2021

By undercutting legal streaming apps, militia groups are providing an illegal television service to millions of households in Brazil, earning them a fortune and bankrolling other criminal activities.

BRAZIL / 9 JUN 2021

Manaus, the economic heart of Brazil’s Amazon, has come under siege from the Red Command gang after the killing of a top drug leader. But these attacks may be the…

BRAZIL GROUPS / AUGUST 13, 2021

Escritório do Crime is one of the largest and most powerful militia groups in Brazil’s second-largest city, Rio de Janeiro.

BRAZIL / 8 JAN 2021

As part of a mounting campaign going after criminal finances, police in Rio de Janeiro have asked courts to seize control of legal businesses used by militia groups to launder…

BRAZIL MILITIAS / 29 DEC 2020

As COVID-19 threatened the well-being of the populations they depend on for criminal income, it was largely in the interest of criminal groups to try and keep the pandemic under…

BRAZIL / 24 NOV 2020

Political assassinations have marred successive Brazilian elections but the pace of these killings has more than doubled in 2020, with the power of militia groups blamed for much of the…

BRAZIL / 16 AUG 2019

New details about militias in Brazil’s rural areas reveal how these criminal groups have spread rapidly in strategic regions around the country.

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InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

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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…