All About Rastrojos

COLOMBIA / 13 MAR 2013

The Colombian government has failed to properly assess the threat posed by the rise of two "neo-paramilitary cartels," which now aim to control every level of criminal activity in Colombia,…

COLOMBIA / 11 MAR 2013

Revelations that a Bogota drug gang had international criminal contacts across the Americas and in Europe illustrate the increasing role that local groups play in international organized crime.

COLOMBIA / 28 FEB 2013

Police have arrested the alleged leader of criminal group the Rastrojos in Colombia's coffee region, in another blow to the already weakened criminal organization.

COLOMBIA / 25 FEB 2013

Spanish police have dismantled an alleged network of Colombian hitmen in a case that highlights the foothold that Colombian criminal groups retain in the country -- and the growing influence…

COLOMBIA / 31 JAN 2013

The US government has placed sanctions on Colombian drug gang the Rastrojos, including one of its top leaders who was captured last year, suggesting the United States is preparing to…

COLOMBIA / 31 JAN 2013

An official report highlights the startling explosion of youth gangs in the city of Cali, Colombia, feeding the conflict between rival criminal groups the Urabeños and the Rastrojos.

COLOMBIA / 30 JAN 2013

Colombian police have captured the alleged head of the once-mighty Machos drug gang, in a blow to his allies in the Urabeños, and their campaign to push rivals the Rastrojos…

COLOMBIA / 29 JAN 2013

Criminal gangs are now only present in 10 percent of Colombia's municipalities, according to the country's defense minister, although there is reason to doubt his assertion.

COLOMBIA / 10 JAN 2013

Colombia's main criminal groups and leftist guerrillas along the Pacific Coast have aligned to traffic drugs in certain areas but are battling for control of these drugs in others, says…

COLOMBIA / 28 DEC 2012

Lorena Henao Montoya, known as the "Widow of the Mafia," was murdered after assassins on a motorcycle strafed her car with bullets in the province of Armenia, just the latest…

COLOMBIA / 28 NOV 2012

Colombia's Urabeños gang, as part of ongoing expansion, reportedly purchased gold mining operations from their rivals the Rastrojos, although this agreement was not respected…

COLOMBIA / 13 NOV 2012

A new report by Cali-based newspaper El Pais details how the decimated remnants of the Norte del Valle Cartel decided to "sell" their province, home to Colombia's…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

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This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

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InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

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InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

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8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

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Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

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InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…