All About Mendozas

NEWS

Minor Players Take Center Stage in Guatemala Drug Trade

COCAINE / 22 FEB 2021

An anti-narcotics operation targeting an alleged trafficking ring in Guatemala has shed light on the increasing importance of small, often discrete transport networks in the country's cocaine trade.

COCAINE / 4 FEB 2021

Drug trafficking has been reconfigured in Guatemala. The large clans that traditionally dominated the business have broken up.

GEOGRAPHIC PROFILES / 22 JAN 2021

Izabal is one of the most important transit hubs for cocaine being smuggled from Honduras into Guatemala by land, as well as for cocaine arriving by plane or sea from…

DISPLACEMENT / 6 APR 2016

Guatemalan authorities arrested an important member of the Mendoza clan, the second big blow in 17 months inflicted on a family ranked among the country's criminal elite.

GUATEMALA / 21 NOV 2014

The alleged head of the Mendoza family drug clan in Guatemala, and various other suspected members of the criminal group, have been arrested, striking a serious blow to an organization…

CACHIROS / 11 JUN 2014

Local soccer teams give criminal groups in the Northern Triangle countries of Central America the ability to launder proceeds, evade taxes, and accumulate enough political and social capital to avoid…

GUATEMALA / 18 OCT 2013

Police arrested two drug traffickers in northeastern Guatemala, but apparently subsequently lost both suspects, in an embarrassing case for Guatemalan authorities, who have thus far failed to tackle criminal structures…

EL SALVADOR / 14 NOV 2012

Costa Rica's attorney general has warned that with the decline of Mexico's powerful cartels, Central American gangs could rise and take control of criminal operations in the region -- an…

COLOMBIA / 27 FEB 2012

Colombia's police have announced the arrest of 34 suspected members of the Galeano Clan, a drug trafficking group which allegedly had links with the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel and with Guatemalan…

GUATEMALA / 11 OCT 2011

International Crisis Group’s new report on Guatemala paints a bleak picture of a country overrun by Zetas and a government undermined by local drug lords, but it is as useful…

GUATEMALA / 6 SEP 2011

As Guatemala gets closer to election day, allegations of misdeeds continue to dog the campaigns, from murders of candidates to irregularities in campaign funding.

GUATEMALA / 19 AUG 2011

A U.S. diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks revealed that Guatemalan presidential hopeful Otto Perez admitted to past links with the Mendoza family, said to be one of the country's…

GUATEMALA / 17 JUN 2011

A profile from the Guatemalan online news site Plaza Publica of a flamboyant former mayor from north Guatemala, who slashed poverty and protected the environment while allegedly working…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

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InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

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…