All About Invisibles

NEWS

‘Memo Fantasma’ Initiates Criminal Proceeding Against InSight Crime Director

COLOMBIA / 20 APR 2021

An elusive drug trafficker has brought a criminal libel case against InSight Crime Co-director Jeremy McDermott, despite widespread official confirmation of the findings of InSight Crime's two-year investigation.

The Future of the Cocaine Trade to Europe

COCAINE / 9 FEB 2021

The flow of cocaine to Europe may have suffered along with most licit businesses due to the Covid-19 crisis, but few believe the damage to the drug trade will be…

Colombia VP Drops Criminal Complaint Against InSight Crime

COLOMBIA / 29 JUL 2020

Colombia’s Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez has withdrawn a criminal complaint alleging InSight Crime Co-director Jeremy McDermott defamed her character in a series about a drug trafficker.

Colombia Vice President Threatens InSight Crime with Criminal Charges

COLOMBIA / 29 JUL 2020

Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office has notified InSight Crime Co-director Jeremy McDermott of criminal proceedings brought against him by Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez in regard to an investigation into the…

Colombia Attorney General Confirms Identity of ‘Memo Fantasma’

COLOMBIA / 26 MAY 2020

Colombia’s top prosecutor says that Madrid-based businessman Guillermo León Acevedo Giraldo is Memo Fantasma, confirming InSight Crime's investigation into the identity of the elusive drug lord and paramilitary commander.

How ‘Memo Fantasma’ Sold Property to Colombia VP’s Family Company

COLOMBIA / 10 APR 2020

In October 2019, InSight Crime conducted a telephone interview with Álvaro Rincón, the husband of Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez. The topic was Guillermo León Acevedo Giraldo, alias “Memo Fantasma”…

Colombia VP Marta Lucía Ramírez: ‘Memo Fantasma is Not My Husband’s Associate’

COCAINE / 9 APR 2020

In the investigation, "The Invisible Drug Lord: Hunting ‘The Ghost,’" InSight Crime reported that Colombia’s Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez and her husband, Álvaro Rincón, were shareholders of Hitos Urbanos…

The Ghost Lives the High Life in Madrid

AUC / 29 MAR 2020

The Ghost, a paramilitary drug lord, has moved to Madrid with his millions of drug dollars. He has dodged the Colombian justice system and perhaps secured a pass from the…

Tracking the Ghost: Follow the Money

AUC / 29 MAR 2020

“The Ghost” had fled Medellín, tied off loose ends in the underworld and perhaps suspended his drug trafficking activities. He disappeared with millions of dollars. That kind of money is…

The Ghost Loses Drug Trafficking Partners

AUC / 29 MAR 2020

After the demobilization of the AUC in 2006, the paramilitary high command was behind bars. All except alias “Sebastían Colmenares” and his alter ego, “Memo Fantasma,” who was still moving…

The Ghost and His Paramilitary Army

AUC / 29 MAR 2020

In 1997, the paramilitary army began its bloody campaign across Colombia, supposedly to fight the Marxist rebels, but really to take control of the cocaine trade. “Will the Ghost” or…

Hunting the Ghost: a Face and a Name

AUC / 29 MAR 2020

The hunt for “Will the Ghost,” or “Memo Fantasma” had stalled once again. The name Guillermo Camacho did not register with anyone. Had The Ghost managed to wipe all traces…

‘The Invisibles’ of the Drug World

AUC / 29 MAR 2020

Drug traffickers today have realized that their best protection is not a private army, but rather total anonymity. We call these drug lords "the invisibles." This is the story of…

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About InSight Crime

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THE ORGANIZATION

We Have Updated Our Website

4 FEB 2021

Welcome to our new home page. We have revamped the site to create a better display and reader experience.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area

ARGENTINA / 25 JAN 2021

Through several rounds of extensive field investigations, our researchers have analyzed and mapped out the main illicit economies and criminal groups present in 39 border departments spread across the six countries of study – the Northern Triangle trio of Guatemala, Honduras, and El…

BRIEF

InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize

COLOMBIA / 20 NOV 2020

The staff at InSight Crime was awarded the prestigious Simón Bolívar national journalism prize in Colombia for its two-year investigation into the drug trafficker known as “Memo Fantasma,” which was…

ANALYSIS

InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works

COLOMBIA / 12 NOV 2020

This project began 10 years ago as an effort to address a problem: the lack of daily coverage, investigative stories and analysis of organized crime in the Americas. …

ANALYSIS

InSight Crime – Ten Years of Investigating Organized Crime in the Americas

FEATURED / 2 NOV 2020

In early 2009, Steven Dudley was in Medellín, Colombia. His assignment: speak to a jailed paramilitary leader in the Itagui prison, just south of the city. Following his interview inside…

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