Nicaragua's army has captured the alleged leader of a ring of land traffickers a common crime in the country with links to timber mafias, cattle ranchers and corrupt officials.
Indigenous communities in the state of Acre in northwest Brazil's Amazon region are facing growing threats from cocaine trafficking, as criminals up their activity in the country's remote jungle regions bordering…
Deforestation in Ecuador is occurring at a rate of nearly 66,000 hectares a year, according to official figures, in part due to the depredations of illegal loggers, as well as…
Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon, which hit a low point in 2012, is on the rise again according to authorities, evidence of the difficulties of finding a sustainable solution to the…
Authorities in Costa Rica have called attention to the problem of illicit logging in the country, underlining the country's significant role in the highly profitable global illegal timber…
Armed men near the Pacific coast are apparently crossing into Nicaragua from Honduras to illegally log, highlighting the vulnerability of the countrys dwindling rainforests to criminal groups.
Interpol has seized nearly $40 million in illegally trafficked timber, the majority from Venezuela, suggesting the country is an increasingly important market for a criminal activitiy more commonly associated with…
Interpol arrested nearly 200 people and seized millions of dollars' worth of timber as its first international operation against large-scale illegal logging targeted Latin America's large illicit timber market.
Demand from Chinese buyers has contributed to the growth of an illicit trafficking network that is moving record amounts of granadillo wood out of Nicaragua, according to…
A recent report on the environmental destruction caused by organized crime in Guatemala sheds light on an often overlooked consequence of criminal activity in the Americas.
Colombia's Coast Guard has said that paramilitary successor groups, known as BACRIMs, may be getting increasingly involved in timber trafficking on the Pacific coast as they seek new sources of…
The Colombian military seized 450 tons of illegally felled timber in the Pacific port of Buenaventura, drawing attention to the country's illicit logging industry.
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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