All About Coca

COCA / 14 JUL 2021

Recently published data has shown that deforestation in Colombia soared last year, as a number of illegal activities drove forest loss.

COCA / 11 JUN 2021

In arguably the most polarizing election Peru has seen in its history, voters have selected, by a razor-thin margin, a leftist rural school teacher over the daughter of a former…

COCA / 25 MAR 2021

The sheer size of Colombia's reserves makes them a target for the illegal clearing, appropriation and sale of protected land.

COCA / 17 MAR 2021

The US State Department’s annual drug control strategy report calls for Colombia to restart the aerial eradication of coca crops, a position on which the administration of Joe Biden has…

CACHIROS / 28 DEC 2020

A rush of drug plane traffic from South America, coupled with traffickers smuggling large cocaine shipments after coronavirus border restrictions eased, led to a surge in narcotics transiting Central America…

COCA / 22 DEC 2020

President-elect Joe Biden wants to reset US-Latin American relations, but the Trump administration’s approach may leave scars.

COCA / 4 SEP 2020

Yet again, Peruvian security forces are seeking to force Shining Path guerrillas out a jungle region that produces most of the country’s cocaine, but military operations have long failed to…

COCA / 26 JUN 2020

A drop of 15,000 hectares of coca crops in Colombia made no difference in reducing cocaine production in 2019 -- instead it increased compared with the previous year.

COCA / 10 JUN 2020

A wave of violence has struck Colombia's southwestern Cauca department, in the form of targeted killings and armed groups battling for control of coca crops and trafficking routes -- a…

COCA / 20 MAY 2020

While it has imposed a stringent coronavirus lockdown, the Colombian government has come under fire for allowing coca eradication campaigns to continue largely unabated. Colombia’s President Iván Duque…

BOLIVIA / 8 MAY 2020

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…

COCA / 20 FEB 2020

The arrest of suspected crime boss "El Contador," who is accused of being one of Colombia's most powerful traffickers, could further stoke violence in Nariño, a coca-rich department. …

About InSight Crime

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Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

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Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

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InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

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Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…