All About ELN

BRAZIL MILITIAS / 29 DEC 2020

As COVID-19 threatened the well-being of the populations they depend on for criminal income, it was largely in the interest of criminal groups to try and keep the pandemic under…

CONTRABAND / 23 DEC 2020

In a region where 50 percent of the population already makes its living in the informal market, it was perhaps of little surprise that black markets exploded in 2020 amidst…

COCAINE / 10 DEC 2020

The killing of an Indigenous leader in Bahia Solano, on Colombia’s Pacific Coast, adds to mounting violence that has fueled the displacement of hundreds, as the Urabeños drug gang…

COCAINE / 30 OCT 2020

A 14-ton seizure of cocaine has exposed a trafficking network linking Colombian trafficking group Los Pachecna to a small smuggling organization on the La Guajira peninsula, an arid, remote corner…

COLOMBIA / 27 OCT 2020

The killing of ELN commander Uriel -- a well-known figure often seen in propaganda videos and press reports -- is a visible win for Colombia’s security forces, but it won’t…

EL KOKI / 19 OCT 2020

The Venezuelan government and security forces have spent the last few months building up a criminal known as Santanita and his gang as one of their major targets, while other…

COLOMBIA / 3 SEP 2020

The coronavirus pandemic sparked a shift in Colombia as criminal actors the nation over sought to profit from the sudden change in conditions, the refocusing of state priorities and a…

COLOMBIA / 26 AUG 2020

The Colombian government has blamed drug trafficking for three massacres in the south of the country, but violence in the region is likely spurred by armed groups, who sow terror…

ELITES AND CRIME / 31 JUL 2020

Recent incursions by the ELN to set up illegal mining facilities along the Caura River in central Venezuela are being seen as a threat by local Indigenous communities.

CONTRABAND / 24 JUL 2020

As Venezuelan citizens try to return home during the coronavirus pandemic, their own government has accused them of spreading the virus while illegal groups along the Colombian border see them…

COLOMBIA / 15 JUL 2020

In recent months, the ELN has made several attempts to reach a ceasefire but these have been continually rebuffed by the Colombian government, which claims the guerrilla group has no…

COLOMBIA / 22 JUN 2020

Irregular armed groups in Colombia have ramped up their recruiting of poor young people, who find themselves even more vulnerable with schools shut down indefinitely to avoid the spread of…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…