November regional elections brought changes to many powerful offices in regions where criminal organizations wield significant political power, highlighting the significance of localized criminal dynamics and the consolidated grip of…
Unsurprisingly, Caracas consumes more drugs than anywhere else in the country. And despite a catastrophic economic crisis, a handful of gangs continue to make strong profits from microtrafficking in the…
El Coqui seemed to be comfortable. Caracas’ foremost gang boss had, for several years, dominated the sprawling neighborhood of Cota 905, a densely packed and poor part of western Caracas.
An increase in the number of reports of illegal invasions of homes and commercial establishments in Venezuela during the pandemic has revealed the ever-widening criminal portfolio managed by militant civilian…
Venezuela has long been known as a strategic rearguard for Colombia guerrilla groups. Yet 2020 saw the acceleration of a newer dynamic: Venezuelan gangs now rival their Colombian counterparts in…
Venezuela remained mired in crisis throughout 2019, yet Nicolás Maduro actually consolidated his regime. How did he do it?…
A slew of media reports from Venezuela appear to show an elite police unit, blamed for numerous extrajudicial executions, going after two of the country's powerful criminal organizations in recent…
The recent appearance of threatening graffiti targeting political, social and student leaders in Venezuela is a previously unknown tactic in the country, although it is similar to commonplace practices among…
The opposition leader and president of Venezuela’s National Assembly has launched his new security plan for a potential transition government, announcing a series of proposals to restore citizen security and…
The ELN, Colombia’s last rebel army, has engaged in exponential growth over the last four years, both in Colombia and within Venezuela, and may now be described as a Colombo-Venezuelan…
President Nicolás Maduro’s recent call for armed civilian groups to "resist and stand firm" amid Venezuela's ever-worsening social crisis, confirms his reliance on these criminal organizations to help the regime…
Reports from Venezuela are shocking the world with images of “colectivos,” police and military using excessive force -- even opening fire -- on unarmed civilians attempting to bring humanitarian aid…
Is it just me or does Nicolas Maduro look a lot like Saddam Hussein? After US intervention in Iraq, we saw a nation that descended into civil war, mass displacement…
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…
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…
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.
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,…
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…
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