Fears of the coronavirus' spread within Argentina's prisons has ignited inmate protests and led officials to release prisoners to house arrest, a move that has generated controversy and widespread debate…
In Latin America, the participation of women in organized crime has been in the shadow of academic and public policy debate due to the male dominance in the different criminal…
A prisoners rights' group says about a quarter of inmate deaths in Venezuela's police holding cells in 2019 were due to tuberculosis and other treatable illnesses, revealing the deadly risk…
A new US report documents how pretrial detentions continue to overcrowd Latin America’s prison systems, leading to gang recruitment, violence and violations of prisoners’ human rights.
Fears of contagion amid the coronavirus pandemic have spurred deadly riots, mass breakouts, and crackdowns in several Latin American prisons, exposing how long-term issues of overcrowding and deteriorating conditions can…
A tactical military-style operation allegedly carried out by suspected gang members succeeded in freeing a high-profile MS13 leader jailed in Honduras, but serious questions remain about who may have been…
Over the last few years, the PCC’s continued expansion into Paraguay has seen Brazil's most powerful criminal group leave behind its roots as a prison gang to become a transnational…
Following the dramatic prison break on January 19 by members of the PCC, Paraguay’s president has once again sent military troops to the country’s penitentiaries, despite the initial military deployment…
New data in Guatemala has revealed that almost half of all extortion phone calls originate from a single place: the country’s largest prison.
A brutal clash between two clans in a prison in Paraguay this year has shined light on the country’s consumption of crack, the drug that spurred the birth of the…
Authorities in Argentina dismantled a drug trafficking organization whose leader operated from inside a prison in one of the country’s crime hotspots, unveiling further details on how these groups operate…
The June 2019 massacre of 13 Rotela Clan members by PCC inmates at the San Pedro prison in Paraguay shed light on the critical situation in which the South American…
About InSight Crime
We Have Updated Our Website
Welcome to our new home page. We have revamped the site to create a better display and reader experience.
InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area
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…
InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize
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…
InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works
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. …
InSight Crime – Ten Years of Investigating Organized Crime in the Americas
In early 2009, Steven Dudley was in Medellín, Colombia. His assignment: speak to a jailed paramilitary leader in the Itagui prison, just south of the city. Following his interview inside…
Stay Informed with InSight Weekly
Get fresh updates on organized crime from across the region delivered to your inbox.
SUBSCRIBE