It was around 5 a.m. when the MSC Gayane cargo freighter docked in the port of Philadelphia on June 17, 2019. Instead of continuing on to its scheduled destination –…
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…
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…
President Joe Biden’s policy documents on Latin America tread familiar ground. But the region contains a range of other security and criminal threats that are of direct concern to the…
Authorities in Brazil have dismantled a criminal organization specialized in the cloning of debit cards to steal emergency aid and other relief funds, highlighting how criminal groups are cashing in…
The reported leader of the PCC in Paraguay, known as “Bonitão,” has been extradited back to Brazil after a tumultuous few days which saw gang members stage a daring, if…
Within the span of a week, cocaine was discovered in two separate maritime cargo containers bound for Libya, a strong indication that both the north African country and broader region…
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 has dismantled several large, sophisticated counterfeit cash rings in recent months, indicating that criminal groups with the technological savvy to print fake banknotes are seizing on the economic crisis…
A surge in cattle and horse rustling is plaguing ranchers along the Uruguay-Brazil border, but a new specialized unit dedicated to tackling the crime may be showing signs of success.
“Plata o Plomo” is an overused phrase to describe the way criminals threaten officials and civilians to ensure compliance with their wishes. In one Brazilian case, it seems more appropriately…
On June 10, 2016, Jorge Rafaat was driving his armored Hummer when he pulled up to a stop light in central Pedro Juan Caballero, a Paraguayan city at the border…