All About Panama

PANAMA / 20 APR 2017

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…

HUMAN RIGHTS / 10 APR 2017

A video recorded in a Panama prison showing inmates holding weapons casts new doubts on the state of the country's prison system.

ELITES AND CRIME / 31 MAR 2017

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…

BELIZE / 9 MAR 2017

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…

EL SALVADOR / 6 MAR 2017

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…

ELITES AND CRIME / 27 JAN 2017

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…

BAGDAD / 9 JAN 2017

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…

COLOMBIA / 16 DEC 2016

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…

COLOMBIA / 16 NOV 2016

Panama's forest areas are seeing a growth in illegal mining, raising the question of which criminal organizations are behind these activities.

PANAMA / 2016-11-04 16:19:36

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…

BAGDAD / 19 OCT 2016

Recent murder statistics from Panama reveal that the most violent areas of the country coincide with those where gang presence is strongest.

ELITES AND CRIME / 29 SEP 2016

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

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…