Brutal but Futile: Venezuela's Anti-Gang 'Mega-Operations'
EL KOKI
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2 MAR 2023
Venezuelan security forces carry out violent invasions of neighborhoods controlled by gangs, but there is little evidence of their success.
All About Megabandas
NEWS
EXTORTION
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JANUARY 27, 2023
The Carlos Capa gang is one of the oldest surviving criminal gangs in Valles del Tuy, south of Caracas in Venezuela.
MEGABANDAS
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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.
EL KOKI
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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…
ELITES AND CRIME
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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:…
EL KOKI
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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…
EL KOKI
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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…
MEGABANDAS
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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…
EL KOKI
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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.
EL KOKI
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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
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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…
COCAINE
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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…
COLOMBIA
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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…
About InSight Crime
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Escaping Barrio 18
27 JAN 2023
Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…
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