Panama may be moving away from a softer approach to its gang problem toward a more firm-handed and potentially violent strategy resembling those of its Northern Triangle neighbors, at a…
A video recorded in a Panama prison showing inmates holding weapons casts new doubts on the state of the country's prison system.
After a multi-country hunt across Central America, authorities grounded a helicopter owned by former President Ricardo Martinelli's son and linked to a money laundering scheme of bribes from the Brazilian…
The US State Department named seven Central American countries as havens for laundering the proceeds of drug trafficking and organized crime, and described the region as a main cocaine…
Over the past several years, the United States has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on crime and violence prevention programs in Central America, with few evaluations of the impact…
Two Honduran executives allegedly used a Panamanian business and a US bank to pay $2.5 million in bribes, suggesting that banks based in Panama and the United States may…
When it comes to Central America, all eyes are usually on the Northern Triangle. But 2016 saw local organized crime in Costa Rica and Panama -- traditionally oases…
Authorities in Panama say they have seized more drugs in 2016 than in any other year since 2000, and soaring cocaine production in neighboring Colombia may be the most likely…
Panama's forest areas are seeing a growth in illegal mining, raising the question of which criminal organizations are behind these activities.
The FARC's 57th Front is active along the Colombia-Panama border, where it has long used the dense strip of jungle known as the Darién Gap to traffic drugs into Central…
Recent murder statistics from Panama reveal that the most violent areas of the country coincide with those where gang presence is strongest.
Panama's foreign ministry has formally requested that the United States extradite the country's former President Ricardo Martinelli, a move that raises questions about the Central American nation's ability to successfully…
About InSight Crime
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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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