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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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.
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.
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…
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…
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
Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted
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…
Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention
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…
InSight Crime on El País Podcast
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.
InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press
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,…
Escaping Barrio 18
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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