All About Urabeños

INVESTIGATIONS

In Colombia, Child Soldiers Play Many Roles

COLOMBIA / 8 APR 2021

Children serve in a wide range of roles in criminal organizations: errand boy, landmine builder, frontline combatant and assassin. In this, the second of a three-part investigation by InSight Crime…

Bajo Cauca and Vaupés – Colombia’s Child Recruitment Hotspots

COLOMBIA / 1 APR 2021

As in the darkest days of Colombia's civil conflict, armed groups across the country continue to enlist and exploit teenage boys and girls. In this, the first of a three-part…

Ex-FARC Expand into Northern Colombia

COLOMBIA / 16 MAR 2021

A leader of what was once Colombia's largest guerrilla organization has announced the revival of one of its most formidable blocs in northern Colombia -- a region with a competitive…

Massacres Spike in Antioquia as Colombia’s Urabeños Expand

COLOMBIA / 10 MAR 2021

The central Colombian department of Antioquia has been the scene of four massacres over the first two months of 2021, as the Urabeños trafficking group aims to expand both its…

Spain: The European Base for Latin American Organized Crime

COCAINE / 9 FEB 2021

On April 30, 1984, the Mercedes taking Colombian Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara Bonilla home after work was strafed with machine gun fire.

New Criminal Alliance Fending Off ELN at Colombia-Venezuela Border

COLOMBIA / 19 JAN 2021

A new alliance between two of Colombia's main criminal groups is seeking to contest the ELN's control of lucrative criminal economies along the border with Venezuela.

The Endless War to Control Northwest Colombia’s Drug Routes

COCAINE / 10 DEC 2020

The killing of an Indigenous leader in Bahia Solano, on Colombia’s Pacific Coast, adds to mounting violence that has fueled the displacement of hundreds, as the Urabeños drug gang…

Colombia’s Doubtful Progress Against Landmines

COLOMBIA / 20 OCT 2020

An army official has touted significant progress in clearing landmines in Colombia, but their expanded use by criminal groups has undercut demining efforts and has led to a sharp rise…

Panama’s Bocas del Toro Archipelago New Cocaine Seizure Hotspot

COCAINE / 25 SEP 2020

Authorities in Panama’s northwestern province of Bocas del Toro have intercepted a string of vessels carrying large amounts of cocaine, a sign that traffickers are using the archipelago as…

Urabeños Reactivate Montes de María Drug Route in Northern Colombia

COCAINE / 8 SEP 2020

Reports that the Urabeños are re-activating an old drug trafficking route in Montes de María, Colombia, may suggest that it has been pushed to do so due to losing power…

Criminal Governance Under Coronavirus: How Colombian Groups Seized the Day

COLOMBIA / 3 SEP 2020

The coronavirus pandemic sparked a shift in Colombia as criminal actors the nation over sought to profit from the sudden change in conditions, the refocusing of state priorities and a…

More Than Drug Trafficking Drives Violence in Colombia’s Nariño

COLOMBIA / 26 AUG 2020

The Colombian government has blamed drug trafficking for three massacres in the south of the country, but violence in the region is likely spurred by armed groups, who sow terror…

Los Pachenca Holding On in Northern Colombia After Leader’s Death

COCAINE / 29 JUN 2020

In May 2019, Colombian President Iván Duque vowed to end Los Pachenca, stating that this was a promise from the country's security council. Just over a year on, that promise…

Frequently Used Tags

About InSight Crime

ABOUT US
THE ORGANIZATION

We Have Updated Our Website

4 FEB 2021

Welcome to our new home page. We have revamped the site to create a better display and reader experience.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area

ARGENTINA / 25 JAN 2021

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…

BRIEF

InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize

COLOMBIA / 20 NOV 2020

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…

ANALYSIS

InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works

COLOMBIA / 12 NOV 2020

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. …

ANALYSIS

InSight Crime – Ten Years of Investigating Organized Crime in the Americas

FEATURED / 2 NOV 2020

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…

ABOUT US