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Jalisco Cartel Cashing in on Mexico's Illegal Cigarette Market

CONTRABAND / 8 JUN 2022

The Jalisco is allegedly powering the production of 12 percent of all Mexican-made illicit cigarettes, stepping up efforts across the value chain of an illegal economy now dominated by local…

From Copper Theft to Ransomware - Chile's Criminal Challenges Begin to Mount

CHILE / 1 JUN 2022

A new report by Chilean think tank AthenaLab has laid bare Chile's ever-increasing spectrum of criminal threats, from copper theft and illegal fishing to cybercrime and weapons trafficking.

How Black Market Ear Tags Help Flow of Contraband Cattle

CONTRABAND / 18 MAY 2022

Cattle from Mexico and the Central American nations of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua help feed the domestic beef markets of each of these countries. The processed byproducts of some of…

The Secrets of Cattle Smuggling from Guatemala to Veracruz, Mexico

CONTRABAND / 18 MAY 2022

Ranchers from Mexico's eastern state of Veracruz know a way to buy cheap cattle: Drive to a remote part of the Chiapas-Guatemala border and purchase cows being brought illegally across…

Narco-Cattle Ranching in Honduras' La Mosquitia

COCAINE / 18 MAY 2022

the jungle region known as La Mosquitia in northeast Honduras has been an ideal corridor for international drug trafficking. However, another criminal economy has emerged at the same time: illegal…

Costa Rican Copper Bust Underscores Regional Uptick in Theft and Smuggling

CHINA AND CRIME / 5 APR 2022

The recent discovery of a copper smuggling ring in Costa Rica sheds light on how copper theft is gradually becoming increasingly sophisticated due to demand from Asia.

Sun, Samba and Smuggled Soybeans in Brazil

ARGENTINA / 11 JAN 2022

As Brazil works to maintain its dominance of the soybean market, it is facing an ascending challenge: a flood of cheap grains smuggled illegally from Argentina.

A Pound of Flesh: Contraband Meat Wiping Out Paraguay's Farmers

CONTRABAND / 6 JAN 2022

A string of contraband meat seizures in Paraguay is indicative of the way smuggling has undercut the country’s flagging domestic agriculture industry in the wake of COVID-19.

How to Smuggle Fried Rice into a Colombian Prison

COLOMBIA / 17 DEC 2021

A lucrative covert delivery business run by prison guards in Colombia has provided yet another example of the diverse range of services inmates can enjoy behind bars.

Belize, the Gatekeeper for Contraband Tobacco Flowing into Mexico

BELIZE / 9 NOV 2021

While contraband cigarettes are a mainstay across Latin America, Belize has confirmed its status as a major port of entry for illegal tobacco into Mexico.

Illegal Cigarettes Produced with Slave Labor in Brazil

BRAZIL / 2 NOV 2021

Counterfeit cigarettes may appear harmless, but the illicit tobacco trade often spurs other criminal activities – with the latest case being the use of slave labor by a ring that…

The Coast of Sucre - Venezuela's Most Dangerous Place for Piracy

CARIBBEAN / 15 OCT 2021

Merchants travelling to Trinidad and Tobago, fishing vessels, even the occasional tourist – all are tempting targets for pirates off Venezuela’s northern state of Sucre.  …

Contraband Chinese Cigarettes Take Latin America by Storm

CHINA AND CRIME / 11 OCT 2021

Contraband Chinese cigarettes are pouring into Latin America, infiltrating old smuggling routes and threatening longstanding criminal empires.

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Who Are Memo Fantasma and Sergio Roberto de Carvalho?

24 JUN 2022

Inside the criminal career of Memo Fantasma  In March 2020, InSight Crime revealed the identity and whereabouts of Memo Fantasma, a paramilitary commander and drug trafficker living in…

THE ORGANIZATION

Environmental and Academic Praise

17 JUN 2022

InSight Crime’s six-part series on the plunder of the Peruvian Amazon continues to inform the debate on environmental security in the region. Our Environmental Crimes Project Manager, María Fernanda Ramírez,…

LA ORGANIZACIÓN

Series on Plunder of Peru’s Amazon Makes Headlines

10 JUN 2022

Since launching on June 2, InSight Crime’s six-part series on environmental crime in Peru’s Amazon has been well-received. Detailing the shocking impunity enjoyed by those plundering the rainforest, the investigation…

THE ORGANIZATION

Duarte’s Death Makes Waves

3 JUN 2022

The announcement of the death of Gentil Duarte, one of the top dissident commanders of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), continues to reverberate in Venezuela and Colombia.

THE ORGANIZATION

Cattle Trafficking Acclaim, Investigation into Peru’s Amazon 

27 MAY 2022

On May 18, InSight Crime launched its most recent investigation into cattle trafficking between Central America and Mexico. It showed precisely how beef, illicitly produced in Honduras, Guatemala…

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