All About Illegal Mining

ELN / 8 MAR 2019

Drug trafficking, battles between state forces and armed groups, extortion and illegal gold mining have transformed southern Venezuela into a region where citizens live in a parallel state ruled by…

ECUADOR / 12 FEB 2019

The largest gold deposit in Ecuador is in the hands of organized crime. At the end of 2017, while authorities in the northern province of Imbabura were working on the…

CRIMINAL MIGRATION / 11 JAN 2019

It is hard to be optimistic for 2019. The current trends all point to a strengthening of organized crime throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, as the criminals adapt far…

COCA / 7 JAN 2019

Two years after the signing of a peace deal between the Colombian government and the FARC, Colombia’s forests are under siege and experiencing heightened levels of deforestation promoted by various…

GOLD / 24 DEC 2018

Dozens of massacres and a sprawling organized crime structure are behind a recent alliance between the governments of Venezuela and Turkey to extract, refine and market the "blood gold" that…

ELN / 19 OCT 2018

The recent massacre of seven people in one of Venezuela’s mining regions may confirm that the Colombia guerrilla group ELN is expanding its criminal activities into the south of Venezuela,…

COLOMBIA / 3 OCT 2018

A series of attacks on multinational companies operating in Colombia could indicate that armed groups are shedding discipline for increased criminal gains, in a new era of organized crime in…

GOLD / 5 MAR 2018

Ten days after another massacre perpetrated by the army in Venezuela's mining region, its parliament has announced that it will bring the case to international courts and initiate an investigation.

GOLD / 18 JAN 2018

A new journalistic investigation reveals the inner workings of Miami’s dirty gold trade, which has helped powerful Latin American crime groups whitewash their criminal profits.

ILLEGAL MINING / 15 JAN 2018

Two congressmen in Venezuela allege that members of the armed forces play a central role in the country's contraband mineral trade, in another example of how the government is…

GOLD / 20 SEP 2017

The rise of organized crime in Venezuela's southern Bolívar region has been directly proportional to the state's neglect of local people and towns. Criminal gang lords impose terror using the…

ILLEGAL MINING / 15 SEP 2017

State forces have reportedly been responsible for a wave of killings in Venezuela's illegal mining zones, sparking questions over whether they are combating criminal networks, clearing the way for multinationals…

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…

THE ORGANIZATION

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…