Authorities in Argentina successfully interrupted a major extortion ring in the capital Buenos Aires, in an operation that reveals how longstanding police corruption has contributed to illegal activities in…
Recent media reports point to the rise of drug and human trafficking on the Bolivia-Argentina border as the cause of spiking violence among local smugglers.
A new report indicates that Chile's contraband cigarette trade has increased exponentially during the past five years, a reminder of how profitable the illegal industry is for organized crime groups.
Contraband cost Brazil tens of billions of dollars in 2016, according to two watchdog groups, an astonishing amount of money that illustrates the depth of the problem.
Huge amounts of Venezuelan banknotes have turned up thousands of miles from the country's border for the second time in a month, raising questions about the potential criminal uses of…
Paraguay has seized 25 metric tons of Venezuelan currency, an illustration of how this soon to be worthless cash is highly valuable to counterfeiters looking to convert it into US…
President Nicolas Maduro has justified the withdrawal of Venezuela's 100 bolivar note as a means of undercutting criminal earnings, but past examples suggest that criminal groups will actually profit from…
A new study estimates that Paraguay's illegal economy was equal to 40 percent of the country's GDP last year, a huge number that points to how pervasive a wide range…
Paraguay is exporting more soybeans than it produces in a tell-tale sign of a booming contraband smuggling trade that utilizes the same cross-border blindspots as drug trafficking in the region.
Police in Colombia have seized over 1,800 cows smuggled into the country from Venezuela so far this year, shining a light on one of the few contraband sectors still thriving…
Representatives from Guatemala's agricultural industry have claimed food contraband has increased by almost one-third this year and cost the government over $2 billion in 2015, an accusation that does not…
Authorities in food-poor Venezuela arrested two individuals on suspicion of smuggling almost three tons of white powder, but it wasn't the usual seizure of illegal drugs. It was flour.
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InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area
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…
InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize
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…
InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works
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. …
InSight Crime – Ten Years of Investigating Organized Crime in the Americas
In early 2009, Steven Dudley was in Medellín, Colombia. His assignment: speak to a jailed paramilitary leader in the Itagui prison, just south of the city. Following his interview inside…
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