While Colombia registered a drop in kidnappings in 2013, an uptick in "express" kidnappings remains obscured by the statistics, and reflects a major shift in the country's crime dynamic.
Until recently, abductions in Haiti were rampant and almost always happened the same way: ski-mask-clad kidnappers would surround a house, force entry, ransack the place and leave with a vulnerable…
Authorities in Bolivia have arrested a group of kidnappers that hacked computers to gain information on victims and demanded exorbitant ransoms, an unusual case in a country not known for…
A Venezuela police report asserted that 27 criminals were responsible for the majority of kidnappings in Caracas, a crime that is reaching epidemic proportions and contributing to the country's slide…
Mexico has created a new unit to combat rising kidnapping in the country, but the question remains of whether this body will tackle the crime more effectively than existing institutions…
Colombian police reported that 292 cases of kidnapping were registered in 2013, of which 32 could be directly traced to the FARC, despite the rebel group's promise to cease the…
Four soldiers have been convicted of an "express" kidnapping in Venezuela, highlighting the participation of the security forces in the kidnapping boom Venezuela has experienced over the last decade.
The death of a 38-year-old man in a confrontation between criminals and police takes the number of murdered kidnap victims in Venezuela this year to 21, as kidnapping not only…
Police in Bolivia have rescued a 13-year old child kidnapped over a drug debt, drawing attention to a crime that is likely to increase as transnational organized crime spreads and…
Details have emerged about how a kidnapping gang formed mostly of police operated in the Mexican tourist city of Acapulco, illustrating the central role security forces often play in…
Mexican authorities have rescued 73 people from a house in the north of the country, further evidence of the vulnerability of migrants to kidnapping and extortion at the hands of…
Mexico saw the highest number of reported kidnappings in the first half of 2013 since at least 1997, according to a national civil society organization, a figure that reflects the…
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InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area
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…
InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize
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…
InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works
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. …
InSight Crime – Ten Years of Investigating Organized Crime in the Americas
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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