Major cocaine seizures in Spain, Portugal and Ecuador illustrate the European cocaine pipeline that has become a central part of the operations of Colombian drug traffickers, and which could represent…
Organized crime thrives amid political corruption and uncertainty. There will be plenty of this in Latin America in 2018, helping organized crime deepen its roots across the region over the…
Corruption scandals have continued to break at dizzying pace across Latin America throughout 2017, spanning politics, business, the security forces, the judiciary and even sports teams. But while the…
Law enforcement officials in Ecuador rejected a recent report indicating that Mexican cartels have a presence there, in what is likely an attempt to preserve the country's image as…
In Ecuador and Chile, two of Latin America's most trusted police institutions have been hit by recent corruption scandals, a reminder that even the most highly-regarded security forces in…
A judge in Ecuador ordered Vice President Jorge Glas detained as an investigation looks into whether he took bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, in what could be the…
Hundreds of indigenous people, including children, across Ecuador are being trafficked each year but few victims come forward because of shame and fear and little is known about the true…
Ecuador’s geographic location and other environmental characteristics have long provided incentives for transnational organized crime groups to exploit the country as a drug transshipment point and a logistical safe haven.
Fishing industry workers and their families in Ecuador are pleading for assistance for over 100 fishermen incarcerated in foreign prisons on drug trafficking charges, highlighting how those at the bottom…
Authorities in Colombia dismantled a cocaine processing laboratory in the department of Putumayo along the border with Ecuador, a further indication that dissident elements of the demobilizing FARC guerrilla group…
Despite the use of advanced technology by authorities to combat drug smuggling to the United States, organized crime groups in Latin America are still using basic technology to elude…
Ecuador seized over three metric tons of cocaine in less than a week, a large haul that signals the country's growing role in the transnational drug trade as well as…
About InSight Crime
We Have Updated Our Website
Welcome to our new home page. We have revamped the site to create a better display and reader experience.
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…
Stay Informed with InSight Weekly
Get fresh updates on organized crime from across the region delivered to your inbox.
SUBSCRIBE