The 400 Mawozo (400 Lame Men) gang is currently the largest active criminal group in Haiti. Led by Joseph Wilson, alias “Lanmò San Jou”, the gang has managed to consolidate…
Dominican President Luis Abinader claims that constructing a 164-kilometer barrier along its border with Haiti will stop irregular migration and smuggling – the same claims made in the past for…
Latin American countries scored poorly on Transparency International’s latest corruption index, with the worst joining the ranks of war-torn nations and dictatorships.
In 2021, most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a marked increase in murders. Resurgent violence was to be expected after some of the world’s strictest COVID-19 lockdowns…
Jimmy Chérizier, alias "Barbecue," is a complicated individual. For some, he's a Robin-Hood figure. For others, he's a former police officer implicated in one of Haiti's worst massacres.
An explosive new report suggests that the high-profile assassination of Jovenel Moïse may have been related to a crackdown on drug trafficking and a list he was compiling of Haitian…
Religious groups are among the final institutions present in Haiti, delivering aid and support to an afflicted population. Unfortunately, that has made priests, nuns and missionaries prime targets for kidnapping…
A string of US citizens and residents accused of smuggling weapons into Haiti underscores how guns purchased in the United States are a source of illegal weapons in a country…
Once the purview of Mexican drug cartels, the production of pro-gang songs that soothe the egos of powerful criminal overlords are swiftly becoming a region-wide phenomenon.
The relief provided by Haiti’s gangs finally releasing their chokehold on the country’s oil supply may only be temporary.
The ability and willingness of Haiti’s gangs to choke off essential services such as power and water, seemingly at will, is enhancing their influence as they push the country to…
Kidnappings have skyrocketed in Haiti, but the crisis has political as well as criminal roots.
About InSight Crime
Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua Becomes Truly Transnational
This week, InSight Crime published a deep dive into the total control that Venezuelan mega-gang, Tren de Aragua, has over the lives of those it smuggles between Venezuela and Chile…
Turkish Traffickers Delivering Latin American Cocaine to Persian Gulf
Last week, InSight Crime published the second half of an investigation piecing together the emerging role of Turkish cocaine traffickers in supplying Russia and the Persian Gulf, which are among…
Turkey as a Lynchpin in European Cocaine Pipeline
InSight Crime is extending its investigation into the cocaine pipeline to Europe, and tracking the growing connections between Latin American drug traffickers and European criminal organizations. This led us to…
Memo Fantasma Coverage Gets Worldwide Attention
Guillermo Acevedo, the former Colombian drug lord and paramilitary commander better known as Memo Fantasma, may soon be allowed to leave prison. Since first revealing the identity of Memo Fantasma…
Who Are Memo Fantasma and Sergio Roberto de Carvalho?
Inside the criminal career of Memo Fantasma In March 2020, InSight Crime revealed the identity and whereabouts of Memo Fantasma, a paramilitary commander and drug trafficker living in…
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