A recent report by El Salvador's ombudsman credits the government's new security measures with reducing crime, but condemns their adverse impact on prisoners' rights, raising questions about the efficacy of…
Female gang members in Honduras are taking a more active role in criminal activities as gang leaders are transferred into maximum security prisons, a Honduras newspaper reported. If true,…
Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro announced the replacement of Prison Minister Iris Varela, but her policies that allowed criminal networks to flourish inside the country's jails seem destined to continue.
Latin America's female prison population is growing faster than the number of men in jail, according to a recent report. InSight Crime's Senior Investigator Deborah Bonello looks back at an…
Authorities in Honduras are investigating whether a recently captured alleged gang member escaped from prison unnoticed by swapping his identity with another inmate, a situation that raises questions about corruption…
In our June 1 Facebook Live, co-directors Steven Dudley and Jeremy McDermott spoke about InSight Crimes special investigation of prisons and their often overlooked impact on organized crime…
Nearly 90 alleged gang members escaped from a prison in northern Brazil, yet another illustration of how criminal groups have usurped control of the country's prison system, a problem exacerbated…
Authorities in El Salvador arrested a fugitive crime boss who had escaped from a Guatemala prison two weeks earlier, with officials from both countries crediting bilateral security cooperation for the…
Organized crime groups control 65 percent of state prisons in Mexico, according to a government report about prison conditions in the country published this week.
Sixty-five people escaped from prison in less than 15 days in Honduras, highlighting the chronic dysfunction of the country's prison system.
A former mayoral candidate turned criminal leader in Guatemala has escaped from one of the country's detention centers, further illustrating how corrupt institutions undermine the pursuit of justice and…
A recently-released video recorded in a maximum-security prison in Mexico shows inmates throwing a party, serving as a reminder of the authority wielded by criminal groups in the country's penitentiaries.
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