All About Rastrojos

COLOMBIA / 21 MAY 2019

A violent criminal gang known as "La Línea" has triggered several deadly shootouts in battles with other armed groups seeking to control remote trails near the main border crossing between…

COLOMBIA / 6 MAY 2019

A recent shootout at the main border crossing between Colombia and Venezuela and the killing of five people in another Venezuelan frontier town shows that clashes between criminal groups over…

COLOMBIA / 8 JAN 2019

Turbulence reigned in 2018, but there was one constant: the flow of Venezuelans fleeing their country. The unceasing migration has left thousands of people homeless, penniless and ripe for exploitation…

ELN / 31 DEC 2018

A new report from a Venezuela non-governmental organization working on migration issues shows that Colombia's criminal groups have been recruiting Venezuelans into their ranks at an accelerated rate.

COLOMBIA / 5 NOV 2018

A recent attack by Colombian criminal group, Los Rastrojos, on a military base in Venezuela confirms that the group is gathering strength in the country and will not hold back…

COLOMBIA / 13 MAR 2018

The Colombian mafia comprises networks of localized and shadowy groups and figures involved in illicit economies.

COLECTIVOS / 29 JAN 2018

Venezuela’s continued spiral into economic, political and social crisis and the demobilization of Colombia’s largest guerrilla group have shifted criminal dynamics on the Colombia-Venezuela border, transforming the region into…

COLOMBIA / 18 JUL 2017

Ongoing political and economic chaos in Venezuela may be aiding the resurgence of the Rastrojos, once one of Colombia's most powerful crime groups -- a worrying trend in light…

COLOMBIA / 28 MAR 2017

Authorities arrested a former leader of a now dissolved Colombian drug trafficking organization, a sign that the group's legacy in the country's underworld lives on. …

COLOMBIA / 15 FEB 2017

A Colombian drug boss whose surrender to US authorities helped decimate what was once among the country's most powerful criminal organizations has negotiated his way into receiving just a nine-year…

COLOMBIA / 28 NOV 2016

A new analysis of 15 years of homicide statistics in Colombia's most violent city, Cali, highlights the direct correlation between underworld evolutions and violence in the country.

COLOMBIA / 26 OCT 2016

The arrest of the alleged leader of Rastrojos faction "los Comba" is a sign that the criminal group was able to grow under the authorities' radar since its near demise…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…