Illegal Cigarettes Increasing Presence in Brazil and Southern Cone

Argentina, Chile and Brazil are struggling with increased demand for smuggled cigarettes, as these provide major revenue for criminal groups and result in massive tax losses for national governments.

Deadly Riot Shows Paraguay Prisons Unprepared for PCC Onslaught

Ten inmates in a Paraguay prison were killed by PCC gang members, in a brutal assault that makes clear that the small country’s penitentiary system cannot…

Brazil Prisons Become Battlegrounds for Familia do Norte Civil War

A turf war among the founders of Familia do Norte, northern Brazil’s most powerful crime group, has left dozens of prisoners dead and will have major implications for criminal gang…

Okaida, Gang Inspired by Al-Qaeda, Expands in Northeast Brazil

Victory in a decade-long turf war fought in the northeastern Brazilian state of Paraíba has allowed Okaida, a local gang named after the Islamic terror group Al-Qaeda, to finally broaden its…

‘Volunteer’ Inmate Program Highlights Brazil Prison Crisis

A so-called voluntary work program in Rio de Janeiro prisons has highlighted long-term problems within Brazil’s crumbling penitentiary system, a breeding ground for some of the most powerful crime groups…

PCC Death Squad Stalked Police Officers in Brazil

PCC gang members in Brazil monitored police on social media and invaded their homes disguised in worker's uniforms in a brazen, hit-squad like attempt on their lives.

Brazen Paraguay Vehicle Theft Shows Minotauro's Influence from Jail

Despite being jailed in a federal prison in Brazil, an alleged PCC gang leader continues to govern the Brazil-Paraguay border, suggesting that the government is showing no clear signs of…

Brazil Clampdown on Gang-Controlled Prisons Unlikely to Succeed

A recent prison crackdown in Brazil has sparked a violent response from the country’s most powerful organized crime group, but the government's measures lack long-term focus and are unlikely to…

GameChangers 2018: The Criminal 'Winners' in Latin America

Which criminal structures have gained the most strength in Latin America in 2018? Three groups, all based in different nations, have engaged in aggressive expansion, both territorial and economic, and…

Ceará Gang Truce Shows Brazil Government Could Be Common Enemy

The northern state of Ceará in Brazil has become a battlefield after government plans to clamp down on gang-controlled prisons were met with an unlikely alliance of criminal groups, showing…

GameChangers 2018: The Year Crime Became an Ideology

Welcome to InSight Crime’s Criminal GameChangers 2018, where we highlight the year's biggest crime trends in the Americas.

Arrests Suggest Crooked Cops Are Aiding PCC’s Expansion in Paraguay

The arrest of an alleged Brazilian crime boss in Paraguay’s capital city illustrates how police corruption and sophisticated tactics may be facilitating the expansion of Brazil’s most powerful crime group…