For the Ecuadorean province of Esmeraldas on the Pacific side of the Colombia border, 2019 began with a warning that the horrors of the past year were no aberration.
Little attention is paid to Ecuador. The murder rate is low, and there are no drug cartels like those that have dominated the criminal landscape in Mexico and Colombia. Yet…
In an effort to move large quantities of drugs to Europe, traffickers continue to target Ecuador’s port city of Guayaquil -- a key transshipment point for cocaine from neighboring countries.
Peruvian police have busted a drug ring that used divers to attach cocaine shipments to the hulls of boats, an innovative and hard to detect smuggling technique that appears to…
The net is tightening around former Ecuador president Rafael Correa after a new order for his arrest, underscoring the country's determination to bring the once-popular leader to justice, along with…
A string of inmate deaths after the deployment of extra troops and police to Ecuador's prisons illustrates that sending in reinforcements is not enough to end the country's prison crisis.
Thousands of police and military have swept through the north Ecuador district of Buenos Aires in an attempt to control the illegal mining boom that has ravaged the region, but…
The intoxication of 204 inmates in a prison in Ecuador is the latest revelation of deep-seated corruption inside the country’s prison system, where surrender of state control to gangs has…
Officials in Ecuador have deployed armed forces to various prisons around the country in an effort to improve security within them, underscoring the consequences of leaving organized crime groups to…
The hijacking of 11 vehicles loaded with contraband by ex-FARC Mafia along the border with Ecuador has revealed a new form of criminal financing for the former guerrilla fighters and…
Colombia's island of Malpelo, home to a vast marine reserve, is suffering the consequences of staggering illegal fishing by domestic and foreign crews, with responses from authorities falling short of…
Ecuador launched an operation to try and halt the flow of narco flights, planes carrying drug shipments, in early April, showcasing how such flights have become pivotal to drug trafficking…
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…
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