A new collection of essays tackles patterns of cultish behavior and ritualized violence among illegal groups across the globe, from the Zetas and the Familia Michoacana to Al Qaeda and…
A vigilante militia has become involved in a hostage standoff with an organized crime network in southwest Mexico, as the competition for booming criminal profits in a fragmented underworld continues…
Throughout the continent, the debate on whether or not the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) gang is working with or for drug traffickers continues. In this investigation, journalist Carlos García tells the…
Authorities in Mexico continue to focus on hunting down the heads of the country's most prominent cartels, pursuing a kingpin strategy that will probably do little to cure a dire…
"Narco-banners" hung around Michoacán have announced the arrival of a new criminal organization in a sign the underworld in the troubled central Mexican state is reorganizing yet again after several…
It would be easy to think that given all that has happened in Mexico's Michoacan state over the last few months, everything has changed. Knights Templar leader Servando Gomez, alias "La…
The capture of yet another high-level target -- this time Servando Gomez, alias "La Tuta," the leader of the Knights Templar -- should be cause for celebration in Mexico, but…
Government information indicates that 12 mayors across Guerrero, Mexico may have criminal ties -- suggesting that a dynamic pushed into the public eye by the case of 43 missing student…
The Familia Michoacana burned four Coca-Cola vehicles in the Pacific state of Guerrero after their bottling company refused to make extortion payments, according to reports, underscoring the power of criminal…
Rising homicides, a high-level capture and a bloody military battle point to growing insecurity in Mexico State, which borders the capital, months after the federal government announced a plan to…
Recent arrests of alleged kidnappers in Guerrero and arms traffickers in the State of Mexico both lead back to the Familia Michoacana, suggesting the once powerful cartel may still be…
The Knights Templar and La Familia Michoacana took nearly 13 percent of profits from Mexico's national avocado production over the course of five years, demonstrating the type of criminal incursion…
About InSight Crime
InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board
This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…
InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan
InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…
InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation
Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…
Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper
Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…
InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate
This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…
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