Latin America saw a boom in illegal mining in 2016, as organized crime recognized the potential of dirty gold.
A new report documents 2015 as the worst year on record for murders of land and environmental defenders. Latin American countries were among the most dangerous for activists, in part…
A top government official in Peru said drug trafficking organizations laundered $250 million last year, while Peruvian and US authorities highlighted the key role other illegal economies such as illegal mining…
An environmental group has accused Peru's government of cutting short the term of its top forestry official because his agency charged with protecting the country's Amazon forest from timber traffickers…
A recent investigation by the independent think tank Fundación Ideas para la Paz (FIP) reveals that while peace negotiations between Colombia's government and rebel group the FARC advance in Cuba,…
As world leaders congregate in Paris to discuss how to address global climate change, InSight Crime highlights five criminal industries that are causing enormous environmental degradation in Latin America.
How a seemingly audacious goal to protect the Amazon makes economic sense.
A recent newspaper report describes how a government strategy meant to combat illegal logging in Brazil -- via the creation of special zones where private companies can harvest wood on…
Over 75 percent of all environmentalists killed in 2014 were from either Central or South America, according to a new report, illustrating the high level of danger facing land activists…
The Brazilian government has launched a new anti-logging security force unit in an attempt to tackle a lucrative criminal trade that has turned Brazil into one of the most dangerous…
Authorities in Hong Kong have seized rosewood from Honduras in what is reportedly the largest seizure of protected wood in the last ten years, highlighting how the demand for wood…
As the United Nations climate change conference wraps up in Lima, one newspaper in Peru has given a breakdown of how faulty controls facilitate the country's illegal timber trade --…
About InSight Crime
Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted
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…
Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention
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…
InSight Crime on El País Podcast
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.
InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press
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,…
Escaping Barrio 18
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…
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