All About Rastrojos

COLOMBIA / 12 NOV 2012

The capture of the only remaining leader signaled as a possible inheritor of the Rastrojos is another sign that the Colombian drug trafficking organization may be on the verge…

COLOMBIA / 9 NOV 2012

Colombia's government has blamed the massacre of 10 farm laborers in Antioquia province on the Rastrojos gang, though questions remain about the incident, which echoes the…

COLOMBIA / 5 NOV 2012

Colombia arrested one of the country's main heroin traffickers, drawing attention to the country's importance to the regional heroin trade despite poppy crops having decreased markedly in recent years.

CRIMINAL MIGRATION / 29 OCT 2012

Colombian neo-paramilitary groups, the Urabeños and the Rastrojos, are running sophisticated extortion rackets in a Venezuelan border state, now controlling territory not only…

COLOMBIA / 25 OCT 2012

Young people living on Colombia's Pacific coast, the country's main cocaine-producing region,  are at risk of being recruited into the conflict -- if not by guerrilla groups, then by drug…

COLOMBIA / 23 OCT 2012

With the demobilization of 17 fighters in Valle del Cauca and hundreds more possibly to surrender, there are indications that the Rastrojos drug gang, once Colombia's most powerful,…

COLOMBIA / 23 OCT 2012

The Urabeños are fighting rival drug gangs, the Paisas and the Rastrojos, for control of San Andres, a Colombian island…

COLOMBIA / 22 OCT 2012

A spate of killings in the Rastrojos stronghold of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, points to increased efforts by the rival Urabeños to…

COLOMBIA / 10 OCT 2012

A captured leader of the Rastrojos drug gang, "Diego Rastrojo," is reportedly still running the gang's illegal activities from the prison where he is awaiting extradition to…

COLOMBIA / 5 OCT 2012

The last known leader of the Rastrojos drug gang, Luis Enrique Calle Serna, has handed himself in to the US, raising the likelihood this once mighty…

COLOMBIA / 3 OCT 2012

Colombian authorities say that the Rastrojos gang were planning to meet with the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico City, which may have been an opportunity to discuss…

ÁGUILAS NEGRAS / FEBRUARY 15, 2023

The BACRIM were a collection of Colombian criminal groups who sought, ultimately unsuccessfully, to set up operations in Venezuela.

About InSight Crime

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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…

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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…

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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…