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NEWS

Pandemic Spending Immunity Deepens El Salvador Corruption Concerns

COVID AND CRIME / 10 MAY 2021

With a new law granting immunity to El Salvador officials accused of mismanaging coronavirus funds and the resignation of a prosecutor looking into pandemic-related spending, President Nayib Bukele and allies…

Private Jets Laden With Cocaine Travel from Brazil to Europe

BRAZIL / 21 APR 2021

Business jets are on the radar of European authorities after the dismantling of a ring that used private aircraft to smuggle cocaine from Brazil to Portugal.

Organized Real Estate Fraud Rings Threaten Property Owners in Costa Rica

COSTA RICA / 6 APR 2021

With owners of expensive lots kept away from Costa Rica because of COVID-19 restrictions, organized property fraud rings have enlisted corrupt notaries to steal properties.

Latin America Elites Seek Corrupt Access to Vaccines

COVID AND CRIME / 30 MAR 2021

The seizure in Mexico of COVID-19 vaccine smuggled aboard a private plane linked to a Honduran textile magnate marks the first instance of alleged transnational vaccine smuggling in Latin America…

DEA Report: Drug Traffickers Adapt to COVID-19 Crisis

COVID AND CRIME / 23 MAR 2021

Though crime syndicates struggled to move drugs in the initial months of the pandemic when global shipping shut down and transit came to a halt, they soon learned to adapt.

Latin America Sees Rise in Vaccine-related Crimes

BRAZIL / 11 MAR 2021

As Latin American countries struggle to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination, crimes related to the illegal purchase of vaccines, including the sale of pilfered or fake doses, have surged, along with…

Ponzi and Pyramid Schemes Spread Across Caribbean

CARIBBEAN / 9 MAR 2021

A new investigative report shows Ponzi and pyramid schemes have proliferated across Caribbean countries during the pandemic, and authorities have been unable to keep up.

Parrots, Toucans and Monkeys Delivered Across Mexico

COVID AND CRIME / 4 MAR 2021

Illegally buying endangered species via social media has grown increasingly convenient in Mexico, especially given its feeble environmental controls and increased e-commerce during the pandemic.

LatAm Crime Groups Set Sights on Europe’s Bustling Cocaine Market

COCAINE / 2 MAR 2021

With higher profits and lower risks than the United States, Europe has emerged recently as arguably the most important cocaine market in the world.

Colectivos Ramp Up Property Seizures in Venezuela

COLECTIVOS / 2 MAR 2021

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…

French Guiana’s Unpatrolled Waters Lure Illegal Fishing Crews

BRAZIL / 2 MAR 2021

Illegal fishing off the coast of French Guiana surged amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as French maritime patrols struggled to mobilize resources, luring illegal fishing crews to the country's pristine waters.

Black Market Medication Grows Controversial in Cuba

CARIBBEAN / 16 FEB 2021

Cuban health officials have warned against taking medication believed to be smuggled in from Haiti after reports of adverse side effects, pointing to Cuba’s growing dependence on the black…

Oxygen Shortage in Mexico Spurs Profiteering

COVID AND CRIME / 8 FEB 2021

With oxygen in short supply in Mexico amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a black market is expanding -- in another example of medical shortages spurring fraud and profiteering.

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We Have Updated Our Website

4 FEB 2021

Welcome to our new home page. We have revamped the site to create a better display and reader experience.

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. …

ANALYSIS

InSight Crime – Ten Years of Investigating Organized Crime in the Americas

FEATURED / 2 NOV 2020

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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