All About Contraband

PARAGUAY

Itapúa, Paraguay

ARMS TRAFFICKING / 25 FEB 2021

Itapúa is a minor marijuana producer but an important transit corridor for cannabis smuggled into Argentina. Some areas of the river border it shares with Argentina are considered hotspots for…

Canindeyú, Paraguay

ARMS TRAFFICKING / 25 FEB 2021

Located on Paraguay’s border with Brazil, Canindeyú is a key criminal hub in the tri-border area.

Alto Paraná, Paraguay

ARMS TRAFFICKING / 25 FEB 2021

Alto Paraná is home to some of Paraguay’s most dynamic criminal economies. Contraband goods continue to flood Brazil and Argentina via Ciudad del Este and surrounding river routes.

Liquid Gold – False COVID-19 Vaccines Emerge in Latin America

CONTRABAND / 18 JAN 2021

In 2021, the COVID-19 vaccine is liquid gold. As governments begin to roll out inoculation programs, criminal groups are taking advantage of the anxious interim, offering a range of scams…

GameChangers 2020: How Black Markets Became the New Normal

CONTRABAND / 23 DEC 2020

In a region where 50 percent of the population already makes its living in the informal market, it was perhaps of little surprise that black markets exploded in 2020 amidst…

GameChangers 2020: Conflicting US Approach to Latin America Organized Crime

COCA / 22 DEC 2020

President-elect Joe Biden has a chance to reset the table on US-Latin American relations, but the Donald Trump administration’s schizophrenic, transactional approach may leave some lasting scars that will be…

GameChangers 2020:  How Organized Crime Survived the Pandemic

BARRIO 18 / 21 DEC 2020

Welcome to InSight Crime’s Criminal GameChangers 2020, where we highlight the most important trends in organized crime in the Americas over the course of the year. …

Proxy Gang Wars Fuel Record Homicides in Ecuador’s Prisons

CONTRABAND / 14 DEC 2020

An ongoing gang war in Ecuador’s prisons has made 2020 the bloodiest year on record for inmates, underscoring how the country’s penitentiary system cannot contain the escalating conflict among an…

Bolivia Dealing with Contraband Surge During Pandemic

BOLIVIA / 3 DEC 2020

Authorities in Bolivia this month have seized several large contraband shipments, as the country's economic struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic continue to increase demand for black market goods.

Drones Rain Contraband on Panama Prison

BAGDAD / 26 NOV 2020

A burst of attempted contraband smuggling into Panama’s largest prison complex has challenged governments claims about the success of recent reforms in bolstering security within the country’s penitentiaries, as well…

Stolen Flu Vaccines Show Mexico’s Black Market Adapted to Coronavirus Demand

CONTRABAND / 25 NOV 2020

A flu vaccine in Mexico has become the latest drug to emerge on Latin America’s burgeoning black market medicine trade, highlighting how criminal groups are increasingly providing items believed to…

Demand for Illegal Alcohol Claiming Hundreds of Lives Across Region

CONTRABAND / 3 NOV 2020

A sizeable seizure of adulterated rum shipped to Honduras from Europe reveals the extent to which black markets for alcohol in Latin America have expanded in response to limits on…

Textiles Contraband Surges in Colombia as Convenient Money Laundering Tactic

COLOMBIA / 21 OCT 2020

Fashion continues to fuel money laundering in Colombia, generating millions in losses for the country's textile industry.

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ABOUT US
THE ORGANIZATION

Strategic Communications Manager Job Description

12 FEB 2021

InSight Crime is looking for a full-time strategic communications manager. This person needs to be able to work in a fast-paced world of daily news, high-profile investigations, national and international…

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4 FEB 2021

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THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area

ARGENTINA / 25 JAN 2021

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…

BRIEF

InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize

COLOMBIA / 20 NOV 2020

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…

ANALYSIS

InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works

COLOMBIA / 12 NOV 2020

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. …