Lagartos

Integrated by multiple gangs with shared allies and enemies, Los Lagartos is one of Ecuador’s prolific prison gangs, whose rivalry with Los Choneros has spurned unprecedented levels violence in Ecuador’s…

Dedicated Hitmen - The New Modus Operandi in Ecuador

A string of brazen targeted killings in Ecuador showcases how violence between the country's criminal gangs is continuing to spiral out of control.

4 Security Challenges Awaiting Ecuador’s Next President

Ecuador’s next president will face an unprecedented set of security challenges, as prison violence has soared to record levels, the country’s corruption is receiving international attention and the criminal situation…

Ecuador's Self-Defeating Anti-Trafficking Law

While authorities in Ecuador tally record cocaine seizures, a change to the criminal code in the Andean country has possibly made it more difficult to prosecute large-scale traffickers.

A Large Galápagos Tortoise Seizure Raises Red Flags

Authorities in Ecuador have seized close to 200 baby tortoises native to the Galápagos Islands that are coveted in the exotic reptile trade.

The Fuel Not the Fuse: Drug Trafficking and Ecuador's Prison Violence

Drug trafficking and transnational organized crime have been blamed for deadly riots among rival gangs in Ecuador's prisons, but the carnage has more to do with how the country's gangs…

Choneros

Los Choneros is one of Ecuador’s most prominent criminal groups, which first emerged in the late 1990s as a drug trafficking organization based in the city of Manta, a beach…

Ecuador Confronts Unprecedented Levels of Prison Violence

Long-simmering tensions between prison gangs in Ecuador exploded this week, leaving at least 75 people brutally killed in four prisons across the country.

Hide and Seek: How Drug Traffickers Get Creative at Sea

Drug traffickers engage in a creative game of hide and seek with coast guards and other security forces that board their ships at sea.

The Rise of “Plata” over “Plomo:” The Cancer of Corruption

In July 2020, British drug trafficker Robert Dawes was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in one of the most emblematic European drug trafficking cases of the…

InSight Crime’s 2020 Homicide Round-Up

While unrest gripped much of Latin America in 2019, it was the coronavirus that took center stage and ripped through the region in 2020, upending everything from commercial trade to…

Libya, North Africa Emerge As Cocaine Transit Hubs

Within the span of a week, cocaine was discovered in two separate maritime cargo containers bound for Libya, a strong indication that both the north African country and broader region…