All About Venezuela

NEWS

The Unlikely Resistance of a Single Mining Gang in Venezuela

ILLEGAL MINING / 17 MAY 2021

The escalating violence between security forces and a gang that formerly enjoyed official protection in Venezuela's foremost mining region shows how the breakdown of criminal and political alliances can lead…

Dirty Business – The Smuggling Pipeline Carrying Mercury Across the Amazon

BOLIVIA / 13 MAY 2021

Smuggling networks are feeding illegal mining operations across the Amazon Basin with mercury, despite global efforts to clamp down on the use of the substance.

Venezuela’s Modeling Agencies Repeatedly Linked to Human Trafficking

GENDER AND CRIME / 5 MAY 2021

As sex trafficking has soared in Venezuela, seemingly legitimate modeling agencies are repeatedly being linked to cases of human trafficking, trapping young women and forcing them into sexual servitude.

Colombia’s Guerrillas Bring Landmines to Venezuela

EX-FARC MAFIA / 22 APR 2021

Reports by the Venezuelan government of landmines in Apure state, demonstrate the recent expansion of a warfare tactic used by guerrillas in Colombia into neighboring Venezuela.

Venezuela Kingpin’s Arrest Leaves Power Vacuum on Caribbean Coast

COCAINE / 6 APR 2021

Recent drug charges against a little-known but powerful Venezuelan businessman come as a surprise given that he allegedly operated with impunity for decades on the country's northern coast.

Dismantled Network Illustrates Pattern in the Exploitation of Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia

COLOMBIA / 5 APR 2021

A sophisticated human trafficking network dismantled in Colombia, illustrates a pattern in how Venezuelan citizens, particularly women, are recruited.

Colectivos Ramp Up Property Seizures in Venezuela

COLECTIVOS / 2 MAR 2021

An increase in the number of reports of illegal invasions of homes and commercial establishments in Venezuela during the pandemic has revealed the ever-widening criminal portfolio managed by militant civilian…

Venezuela Oil Crisis May Set Limits on PDVSA Impunity

ELITES AND CRIME / 25 FEB 2021

Venezuelan officials may have finally met a PDVSA corruption scandal they cannot allow to go unpunished, hinting at just how dire the country’s oil and gas shortage has become.

Venezuela’s Saab Story Continues With Benefit Concert

ELITES AND CRIME / 25 FEB 2021

As alleged Maduro financier Alex Saab awaits potential extradition to the United States, the Venezuelan government decided that a concert catered by a company linked to Saab’s illicit activities would…

El Coqui’s Ambition Fuels Urban Warfare in Caracas

MEGABANDAS / 22 FEB 2021

Recent shootouts between security forces and Venezuela's El Coqui gang included a clash in which at least two dozen people were gunned down, and experts warn of continued violence as…

Hide and Seek: How Drug Traffickers Get Creative at Sea

BRAZIL / 20 FEB 2021

Drug traffickers engage in a creative game of hide and seek with coast guards and other security forces that board their ships at sea.

FARC Victims Claim Compensation from Venezuelan State Oil Company

FARC / 18 FEB 2021

A US court case seeks to compensate victims of the FARC with assets seized from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, in the latest push by US prosecutors to establish legal…

Venezuela’s Other Plight: Sex Trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago

GENDER AND CRIME / 11 FEB 2021

Ongoing interceptions targeting sex trafficking rings operating between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago have revealed the extent to which Venezuelan women and minors are being continually smuggled to the island…

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4 FEB 2021

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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…

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