All About Megabandas

NEWS

Are El Koki and His Gang Members No Longer Safe in Venezuela?

EL KOKI / 6 AUG 2021

Police in Venezuela have killed a notorious gang leader while others are reportedly hiding in Colombia, raising questions about the state of one of Caracas’ most powerful criminal structures and…

El Koki’s Ambition Fuels Urban Warfare in Caracas

EL KOKI / 22 FEB 2021

Recent shootouts between security forces and Venezuela's El Coqui gang included a clash in which at least two dozen people were gunned down, and experts warn of continued violence as…

GameChangers 2020: Tren de Aragua and the Exportation of Venezuelan Organized Crime

COCAINE / 30 DEC 2020

Venezuela has long been known as a strategic rearguard for Colombia guerrilla groups. Yet 2020 saw the acceleration of a newer dynamic: Venezuelan gangs now rival their Colombian counterparts in…

Venezuela's Gangs Push Deeper Into Colombia

COLOMBIA / 14 JUL 2020

Authorities in Colombia have captured several Venezuelan gang members, alarming officials who say that the groups are playing out rivalries from their home country while worming their way into local…

The Hunt for 'Wilexis' - Manufactured Mayhem in Petare, Venezuela

EL KOKI / 29 MAY 2020

A complex game of cat-and-mouse has unfolded over the last two weeks in one of Caracas’s most infamous neighborhoods, revealing how the Maduro regime tries to manipulate gang rivalries to…

GameChangers 2019: As Venezuela Sinks, Maduro’s Criminal Ties Keep Him Afloat

CARTEL DE LOS SOLES / 18 JAN 2020

Venezuela remained mired in crisis throughout 2019, yet Nicolás Maduro actually consolidated his regime. How did he do it?…

Venezuela Reports Show FAES Police Unit Targeting Key Megabandas

COLECTIVOS / 2 JAN 2020

A slew of media reports from Venezuela appear to show an elite police unit, blamed for numerous extrajudicial executions, going after two of the country's powerful criminal organizations in recent…

Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua Gang Seeks to Grow Inside Brazil Prisons

BRAZIL / 26 SEP 2019

Members of Venezuela's large and dangerous Tren del Aragua gang are actively trying to expand their group's influence in the Brazilian prisons where they are incarcerated. …

Venezuelan Megabanda Leader Reportedly Operating from Inside Colombia

COLOMBIA / 27 AUG 2019

The leader of a notorious Venezuelan gang is reportedly operating from Colombia, highlighting how criminal networks from the crisis-stricken state are expanding into neighboring countries.

Venezuela's Tren de Aragua Gang Muscling into Colombia Border Area

COLOMBIA / 10 JUL 2019

The arrest of members from a major Venezuelan gang, the Tren de Aragua, in the border state of Táchira reveals the expansion of this powerful group into what is already one…

Venezuela Disease Outbreaks Reveal Criminal Migration to Illegal Gold Mines

ILLEGAL MINING / 19 JUN 2019

Outbreaks of malaria and diphtheria in a region of Venezuela where these diseases are rare has revealed how armed groups are organizing a vast migration to illegal mines.

Venezuela Gang Muscles Into Trinidad and Tobago, Others May Follow

CARIBBEAN / 20 MAY 2019

A Venezuelan criminal gang has migrated to the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago -- sounding alarms about the expansion of organized crime elements to the islands amid Venezuela's collapse.

Op-Ed: Organized Crime Tightens its Grip on Venezuela

COLOMBIA / 17 MAY 2019

Juan Guaidó tried to bluff Nicólas Maduro at the Venezuelan political poker table, pretending he had the enough of the military in his hand to take the pot. He failed,…

Frequently Used Tags

About InSight Crime

ABOUT US
THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Tackles Illegal Fishing

15 OCT 2021

In October, InSight Crime and American University’s Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS) began a year-long project on illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) fishing in…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Featured in Handbook for Reporting on Organized Crime

8 OCT 2021

In late September, the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) published an excerpt of its forthcoming guide on reporting organized crime in Indonesia.

THE ORGANIZATION

Probing Organized Crime in Haiti

1 OCT 2021

InSight Crime has made it a priority to investigate organized crime in Haiti, where an impotent state is reeling after the July assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, coupled with an…

THE ORGANIZATION

Emergency First Aid in Hostile Environments

24 SEP 2021

At InSight Crime's annual treat, we ramped up hostile environment and emergency first aid training for our 40-member staff, many of whom conduct on-the-ground investigations in dangerous corners of the region.

THE ORGANIZATION

Series on Environmental Crime in the Amazon Generates Headlines

17 SEP 2021

InSight Crime and the Igarapé Institute have been delighted at the response to our joint investigation into environmental crimes in the Colombian Amazon. Coverage of our chapters dedicated to illegal mining…

ABOUT US