Prison murders have surged 60 percent in parts of northern Brazil, a potential sign of the serious repercussions of a new war between the country's two most powerful gangs.
Brazil's two most powerful criminal organizations have broken a long-standing alliance and are fighting each other in a battle that authorities warn could spill onto the streets of Latin America's…
Violent clashes between the Red Command and the First Capital Command prison gangs have left 18 dead in Brazil, potentially signalling cracks in the longtime alliance between two of the country's most…
Prison gangs in Central America and Brazil have evolved from small predatory groups to sophisticated criminal organizations with an ability to create mayhem that extends far beyond penitentiary walls or…
The death of a top Rio de Janeiro drug trafficker at the hands of police provides insight into the relationship between one of Brazil's most powerful criminal organizations and the…
Growth of cocaine use in South America is outpacing any other region in the world and creating an emerging market boom for organized crime groups that are engaging in…
Amid an uptick in violent crime and deepening economic crisis, Brazilian officials plan to secure Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics with the deployment of 85,000 soldiers and police. While…
Cargo theft is emerging as one of the principal illicit revenue streams of organized crime groups in Brazil and some of those profits are funneled into more traditional pursuits such…
In this excerpt from his new book "Gangster Warlords: Drug Dollars, Killing Fields, and the New Politics of Latin America," journalist Ioan Grillo travels deep into a Rio de Janeiro…
A recent shootout between Bolivian police and two foreign nationals speaks to the internationalization of Brazil's oldest criminal group.
An ammunition heist from an Air Force base in Uruguay points to corruption in the countrys security forces, and further indicates that the generally peaceful country serves as a prominent…
In the Antares favela, a flat dusty slum in the far west of Rio de Janeiro, the control of the Red Command remains intact and blatant.
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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…
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