A government crackdown on phone use in prisons has led inmates in El Salvador to adopt desperate measures to communicate with the outside world, including using toilet paper, toothpaste and…
A network of corrupt hospital officials is allegedly helping imprisoned gang members communicate attack orders to other associates, in just the latest state institution to be co-opted by the country’s…
The new administration of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has already shown that it will adopt hardline measures to combat the MS13 and Barrio 18 street gangs -- measures that…
The online magazine Revista Factum interviewed a spokesperson for the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) who spoke on behalf of the entire gang. In this interview…
The MS13 in Honduras has gone from shaking down motorcycle taxi drivers to owning fleets of the bikes and controlling the organizations that license them, showing the evolution of the…
Salvador Sánchez Cerén, El Salvador's president since 2014, left office last weekend with little to show for his tenure, in which slight improvements in the country's prisons were more than…
In late March, President Donald Trump followed up on his threat to suspend US aid to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, He had repeatedly made this pledge, stating that these…
A new US list of corruption suspects in Central America includes officials with ties to sitting presidents -- an important step in recognizing how deeply corruption has penetrated these countries'…
Authorities in El Salvador are keen to expand a much-praised local policing model believed to have helped two rural communities tackle bloody gang control. But a visit to the areas revealed a…
Widespread fear of street gangs in the Northern Triangle countries is being exploited by copycat groups who pose as gang members to extort victims. These criminal operators are now an…
El Salvador’s groundbreaking "Operación Jaque" (Operation Check) has provided a wealth of information on the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13), revealing the gang’s financial inner workings, its money laundering mechanisms and details…
The notorious Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) and 18th Street Gang (Barrio 18) are behind the majority of extortion rackets in the Northern Triangle. The development of their criminal structures over the…
About InSight Crime
Unraveling the Web of Elites Connected to Organized Crime
InSight Crime published Elites and Organized Crime in Nicaragua, a deep dive into the relationships between criminal actors and elites in that Central American nation.
InSight Crime’s Greater Focus on US-Mexico Border
InSight Crime has decided to turn many of its investigative resources towards understanding and chronicling the criminal dynamics along the US-Mexico border.
Key Arrests and Police Budget Increases Due to InSight Crime Investigations
With Memo Fantasma’s arrest, InSight Crime has proven that our investigations can and will uncover major criminal threats in the Americas.
Organized Crime’s Influence on Gender-Based Violence
InSight Crime investigator Laura N. Ávila spoke on organized crime and gender-based violence at the launch of a research project by the United Nations Development Programme.
Conversation with Paraguay Judicial Operators on PCC
InSight Crime Co-director Steven Dudley formed part of a panel attended by over 500 students, all of whom work in Paraguay's judicial system.
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