Fears of contagion amid the coronavirus pandemic have spurred deadly riots, mass breakouts, and crackdowns in several Latin American prisons, exposing how long-term issues of overcrowding and deteriorating conditions can…
Thanks to a combination of great organizational capacity, control of prisons, high levels of loyalty among its members and dominance of key criminal economies, the PCC has become one of…
In a year marked by political and criminal turmoil, Latin American capitals did not escape the effects of the violence, organized crime and state repression experienced throughout the region.
Two recent events show how one of Brazil's regional gangs, the PGC, is making waves inside Paraguay, likely seeking to emulate the drug trafficking success that its larger rivals have…
A social media post claiming falsely that cocaine can cure COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus, has been shared thousands of times on Twitter in recent weeks, although the majority…
In recent years, the port of Antwerp in Belgium has been the main entry point for cocaine into Europe, and authorities are actively trying to change that fact. But what…
The city of Manaus has awoken red in recent weeks: the painting of the Red Command gang's insignia "CV" on its walls, the chanting of "Vermelho" (red) from its largest…
Armed men shot and killed a Brazilian journalist who covered police and drug trafficking along the Brazil-Paraguay border, underscoring the precarious situation for reporters in a lawless region dominated by…
Rio de Janeiro’s ultra-conservative governor, Wilson Witzel, was elected in 2018 on a tough-on-crime ticket. Like his erstwhile ally, President Bolsonaro, who vowed to let criminals "die in the street…
Over the last few years, the PCC’s continued expansion into Paraguay has seen Brazil's most powerful criminal group leave behind its roots as a prison gang to become a transnational…
The case of an infamous Irish trafficker who is facing extradition to Brazil for stealing peregrine falcon eggs has brought attention to the diverse ways in which the region's avian…
Unrest gripped much of Latin America and the Caribbean throughout 2019. From record violence in Mexico that recalled the darkest days of the drug war, to…
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InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area
Through several rounds of extensive field investigations, our researchers have analyzed and mapped out the main illicit economies and criminal groups present in 39 border departments spread across the six countries of study – the Northern Triangle trio of Guatemala, Honduras, and El…
InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize
The staff at InSight Crime was awarded the prestigious Simón Bolívar national journalism prize in Colombia for its two-year investigation into the drug trafficker known as “Memo Fantasma,” which was…
InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works
This project began 10 years ago as an effort to address a problem: the lack of daily coverage, investigative stories and analysis of organized crime in the Americas. …
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