All About Prisons

NEWS

Ecuador Confronts Unprecedented Levels of Prison Violence

ECUADOR / 24 FEB 2021

Long-simmering tensions between prison gangs in Ecuador exploded this week, leaving at least 75 people brutally killed in four prisons across the country.

Guatemala’s Anti-Extortion Plan: A Legacy of Unkept Promises

BARRIO 18 / 29 JAN 2021

It was one of Alejandro Giammattei’s most emphatic promises. One year later, the Interior Ministry supported his strategy to reduce extortions by cutting off access to communication devices among the…

MS13 Prison Releases Reinforce Potential Pact with El Salvador

BARRIO 18 / 20 JAN 2021

Though he did not have any apparent health problems, a top MS13 leader was transferred from a prison to a hospital in El Salvador -- a move approved by…

Labor Initiatives in Women’s Prisons Struggle to Reduce Recidivism

GENDER AND CRIME / 7 JAN 2021

Labor initiatives inside women´s prisons in Latin America aim to improve employment opportunities for female inmates, so as to reduce the rate of repeat offenses. However, beyond prison walls, they…

GameChangers 2020: Tren de Aragua and the Exportation of Venezuelan Organized Crime

COCAINE / 30 DEC 2020

Venezuela has long been known as a strategic rearguard for Colombia guerrilla groups. Yet 2020 saw the acceleration of a newer dynamic: Venezuelan gangs now rival their Colombian counterparts in…

GameChangers 2020:  How Organized Crime Survived the Pandemic

BARRIO 18 / 21 DEC 2020

Welcome to InSight Crime’s Criminal GameChangers 2020, where we highlight the most important trends in organized crime in the Americas over the course of the year. …

Venezuela’s Prison Bosses Become Trusted Supplier of Basic Needs

COVID AND CRIME / 16 DEC 2020

Several inmates at a Venezuela prison scaled a wall to escape to a part of the complex where prison bosses wield greater control, in an attempt their family members say…

Proxy Gang Wars Fuel Record Homicides in Ecuador’s Prisons

CONTRABAND / 14 DEC 2020

An ongoing gang war in Ecuador’s prisons has made 2020 the bloodiest year on record for inmates, underscoring how the country’s penitentiary system cannot contain the escalating conflict among an…

PCC: A Prison from Which There Is No Escape

BRAZIL / 14 DEC 2020

It was a Tuesday night, January 14, 2020, after “free time” when prison authorities found his body.

PCC Investigation: Introduction and Major Findings

BRAZIL / 11 DEC 2020

It was August 31, 1993, and the sun was shining when eight men entered a makeshift soccer pitch in the middle of the Taubaté prison.

Drones Rain Contraband on Panama Prison

BAGDAD / 26 NOV 2020

A burst of attempted contraband smuggling into Panama’s largest prison complex has challenged governments claims about the success of recent reforms in bolstering security within the country’s penitentiaries, as well…

Cooking Cocaine in Full View of Guards at Paraguay’s Largest Prison

CLAN ROTELA / 13 NOV 2020

A drug kitchen was openly run by inmates inside Paraguay’s biggest prison, Tacumbú, in one of the clearest representations to date about how corruption has taken over the country’s penitentiary…

Mexico to Close Prison Infamous for Narco Parties, ‘El Chapo’ Escape

MEXICO / 30 SEP 2020

A federal prison that housed some of Mexico’s most powerful crime bosses will shut down, marking the end for a facility that saw everything from high-profile escapes to lavish parties…

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About InSight Crime

ABOUT US
THE ORGANIZATION

Strategic Communications Manager Job Description

12 FEB 2021

InSight Crime is looking for a full-time strategic communications manager. This person needs to be able to work in a fast-paced world of daily news, high-profile investigations, national and international…

THE ORGANIZATION

We Have Updated Our Website

4 FEB 2021

Welcome to our new home page. We have revamped the site to create a better display and reader experience.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area

ARGENTINA / 25 JAN 2021

Through several rounds of extensive field investigations, our researchers have analyzed and mapped out the main illicit economies and criminal groups present in 39 border departments spread across the six countries of study – the Northern Triangle trio of Guatemala, Honduras, and El…

BRIEF

InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize

COLOMBIA / 20 NOV 2020

The staff at InSight Crime was awarded the prestigious Simón Bolívar national journalism prize in Colombia for its two-year investigation into the drug trafficker known as “Memo Fantasma,” which was…

ANALYSIS

InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works

COLOMBIA / 12 NOV 2020

This project began 10 years ago as an effort to address a problem: the lack of daily coverage, investigative stories and analysis of organized crime in the Americas. …