Recent reports of a group called the Border Command (Comandos de la Frontera) in the department of Putumayo, located on the border between Colombia and Ecuador, have caused alarm. However,…
The pace of eco-trafficking in Latin America does not appear to have slowed under the coronavirus pandemic, with the smuggling of maritime species being particularly active.
While stark images of bodies in makeshift coffins left outside houses revealed how severely Ecuador's healthcare system had collapsed during the coronavirus pandemic, some found opportunity to turn a morbid…
A new report sheds light on US authorities' controversial practice of detaining Ecuadorian fishermen acting as drug mules in international waters and holding them captive on off-shore "prison ships," often…
In a year marked by political and criminal turmoil, Latin American capitals did not escape the effects of the violence, organized crime and state repression experienced throughout the region.
For Ecuador, the death of one of the country’s most notorious homegrown drug traffickers was the end of an era. But for his Mexican bosses, Telmo Castro’s demise will do…
Unrest gripped much of Latin America and the Caribbean throughout 2019. From record violence in Mexico that recalled the darkest days of the drug war, to…
The criminal, economic and political dynamics behind illegal gold rushes this past year in Venezuela and Ecuador were very different. But both countries illustrate the same trend: that illegal mining…
Before the call dropped, Bexy learned the hazardous details of Manuel’s journey. Desperate to find money to rebuild their home, he had agreed to transport cocaine to the US in…
Gerald’s rise to becoming one of the most notorious drug traffickers Ecuador has produced to date was meteoric. But his fall has been just as dramatic, exposing not only the…
A massive flow of smuggled fuel from Ecuador into Colombia is benefiting drug traffickers who use it to produce cocaine and to gas up boats moving drugs.
In January 2019, heavily armed gunmen traveling in a truck and on a motorbike ambushed a small group of anti-narcotics agents in Sucumbíos, the Ecuadorean province that borders Colombia in…
About InSight Crime
Europe Coverage Makes a Splash
Last week, InSight Crime published an analysis of the role of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport as an arrival hub for cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico. The article was picked up by…
World Looks to InSight Crime for Mexico Expertise
Our coverage of the arrest of Chapitos’ co-founder Ovidio Guzmán López in Mexico has received worldwide attention.In the UK, outlets including The Independent and BBC…
InSight Crime Shares Expertise with US State Department
Last week, InSight Crime Co-founder Steven Dudley took part in the International Anti-Corruption Conference organized by the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor and…
Immediate Response to US-Mexico Marijuana Investigation
InSight Crime’s investigation into how the legalization of marijuana in many US states has changed Mexico’s criminal dynamics made a splash this week appearing on the front page of…
‘Ndrangheta Investigation, Exclusive Interview With Suriname President Make Waves
Two weeks ago, InSight Crime published an investigation into how Italian mafia clan the ‘Ndrangheta built a cocaine trafficking network from South America to ‘Ndrangheta-controlled Italian ports. The investigation generated…
Stay Informed with Weekly InSight
Get fresh updates on organized crime from across the region delivered to your inbox.
SUBSCRIBE