Loan Sharks Circle as Latin America Reels From Pandemic

As workers across Latin America struggle to stay afloat amid economic strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, loan sharks offering abusive interest rates have cornered the market, forcing workers seeking…

InSight Crime’s 2020 Homicide Round-Up

While unrest gripped much of Latin America in 2019, it was the coronavirus that took center stage and ripped through the region in 2020, upending everything from commercial trade to…

Contraband Turns to Bloodshed Between Ecuador and Peru

A series of assassinations on Ecuador’s southern border with Peru have been attributed to gang members fighting for control of the illegal crossings by which both people and contraband are…

Chinese Fishing Fleet Leaves Ecuador, Chile, Peru Scrambling to Respond

A new report suggests the Chinese fishing fleet that mass trawled just off Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands in recent months crossed the maritime boundary to fish illegally in Ecuadorian waters, sparking…

Demand for Illegal Alcohol Claiming Hundreds of Lives Across Region

A sizeable seizure of adulterated rum shipped to Honduras from Europe reveals the extent to which black markets for alcohol in Latin America have expanded in response to limits on…

Coronavirus Yet to Halt Peru’s Contraband Cigarette Trade

Police in Peru have recently seized large quantities of contraband cigarettes in one of the capital’s most populous districts, in what is just the latest reflection of the regional boom…

Destroy, Rinse, Repeat – Peru’s Illegal Mining Struggles in Áncash

Peruvian authorities have destroyed yet another illegal mining site in one of the nation’s most popular national parks, but the ongoing failure of official efforts to target this trade strongly…

Why Traffickers Use Politicians, Celebrities to Brand Drugs

From US President Donald Trump to Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi, well-known visages are used by drug gangs to not only mark their product but to stand out from the…

Peru’s Patrones and Their Patrons

Nearly eight months after the wiretaps were installed, the conversations on the phones suddenly changed. The talk of logging, laundering and shipping illegal wood stopped. Instead the voices talked of…

Indigenous Leaders Slain in Peru Amid Pandemic

Four Indigenous leaders in Peru's Amazon have been murdered since the government declared a state of emergency over COVID-19, revealing how their opposition to illegal logging, mining and drug trafficking…

Peru in Familiar Stalemate With Shining Path Rebels

Yet again, Peruvian security forces are seeking to force Shining Path guerrillas out a jungle region that produces most of the country’s cocaine, but military operations have long failed to…

Peru Hospital Staff Extort Families to Identify Coronavirus Victims

Amidst Peru’s coronavirus crisis, hospital workers are demanding bribes from relatives to confirm deceased victims’ identities and arrange illegal funerals, revealing how the pandemic has created new opportunities for criminal…