All About Megabandas

NEWS

Venezuelan Government Targeting One of Country's Oldest Gangs for Annihilation

MEGABANDAS / 23 JUN 2022

One of Venezuela’s oldest gangs, Tren del Llano, has suffered months of targeted operations by security forces and may now be on its last legs.

After El Koki's Death, Gangs Stir Once Again in Caracas’ Cota 905

EL KOKI / 31 MAY 2022

Four months after Venezuelan security forces killed gang boss and public enemy No. 1, El Koki, police in his former Caracas stronghold have suffered two separate grenade attacks – in…

How Venezuelan Gangs Masquerade as Community Organizers to Secure Territory

ELITES AND CRIME / 11 APR 2022

Elements of the Venezuelan underworld, whether drug cartels, street gangs or illegal mining groups, have hit upon a unique way of establishing social control:…

Honor Among Thieves - The Venezuela Manhunt for an Altruistic Mob Boss

EL KOKI / 14 MAR 2022

In December 2021, residents of Tejerías, a small city in the northern state of Aragua, Venezuela, started to notice strange events: wild parties in public plazas organized by a local…

Is This the End for Venezuela’s Megagangs?

EL KOKI / 3 MAR 2022

Security forces in Venezuela have killed a string of infamous gang bosses, indicating that the gangs are no longer operating with impunity as they have for years, though some have…

Murders Soar as Venezuela Police Hunt for Wilexis Yet Again

MEGABANDAS / 9 FEB 2022

A powerful Caracas gang has imposed a curfew after police raids left a dozen people dead – another example of how attempts to root out the gang have led to…

Why did Venezuela's Peace Zones Backfire So Badly?

EL KOKI / 25 JAN 2022

Venezuela’s Peace Zones were arguably some of the strongest evidence showcasing the odd, fluctuating relationship between organized crime and the government.

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 OF THE SUNS / 18 JAN 2020

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

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About InSight Crime

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THE ORGANIZATION

Who Are Memo Fantasma and Sergio Roberto de Carvalho?

24 JUN 2022

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…

THE ORGANIZATION

Environmental and Academic Praise

17 JUN 2022

InSight Crime’s six-part series on the plunder of the Peruvian Amazon continues to inform the debate on environmental security in the region. Our Environmental Crimes Project Manager, María Fernanda Ramírez,…

LA ORGANIZACIÓN

Series on Plunder of Peru’s Amazon Makes Headlines

10 JUN 2022

Since launching on June 2, InSight Crime’s six-part series on environmental crime in Peru’s Amazon has been well-received. Detailing the shocking impunity enjoyed by those plundering the rainforest, the investigation…

THE ORGANIZATION

Duarte’s Death Makes Waves

3 JUN 2022

The announcement of the death of Gentil Duarte, one of the top dissident commanders of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), continues to reverberate in Venezuela and Colombia.

THE ORGANIZATION

Cattle Trafficking Acclaim, Investigation into Peru’s Amazon 

27 MAY 2022

On May 18, InSight Crime launched its most recent investigation into cattle trafficking between Central America and Mexico. It showed precisely how beef, illicitly produced in Honduras, Guatemala…

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