Venezuela

All About Venezuela

NEWS

Religious Statuettes Branded as El Koki for Sale in Caracas

EL KOKI / 23 JUL 2021

Salesmen in Caracas have come up with an enterprising response to the Venezuelan capital’s descent into criminal warfare: selling devotional statuettes dressed like members of El Koki's gang.

Is Venezuela Getting Serious About Unseating El Koki?

EL KOKI / 13 JUL 2021

Venezuelan forces have fought running gun battles in the streets of Caracas in recent days with members of the capital’s strongest gang, in an apparent attempt to finally unseat its…

Venezuela's Indigenous Warao Press-Ganged into Guyana's Illegal Gold Mines

GUYANA / 13 JUL 2021

Migrants from Venezuela's Warao Indigenous community who have been forced to flee to Guyana find themselves forcibly recruited to work as illegal miners in their new country.

Venezuela's Thriving Black Market for COVID-19 Vaccines

CONTRABAND / 30 JUN 2021

In the absence of an adequate COVID-19 vaccination plan, criminal networks in Venezuela have seized upon ongoing mismanagement to steal and resell doses or sell fake vaccines on the black…

US-Curaçao Gold Smuggling Highlights Strategic Caribbean Passage

CARIBBEAN / 29 JUN 2021

The owner of an armored transport company has been charged for his part in a transnational dirty gold network that moved the metal to the United States via Caribbean islands.

El Koki's Victory – An Urban Invasion in Caracas

COLECTIVOS / 25 JUN 2021

El Coqui seemed to be comfortable. Caracas’ foremost gang boss had, for several years, dominated the sprawling neighborhood of Cota 905, a densely packed and poor part of western Caracas.

A Black Cap and A Photo - How John 40 Shook Up FARC Dissidents

COLOMBIA / 14 JUN 2021

A former FARC leader and veteran drug trafficker has sided with ex-commander Iván Márquez, a move that could prove crucial to the future of dissident FARC criminal groups in Colombia…

Mafia Boss Claims Venezuela-Turkey Cocaine Connection

COCAINE / 26 MAY 2021

A Turkish mafia boss has claimed cocaine is being trafficked directly from Venezuela to Turkey in a viral video, pointing to the use of a route relying on the support…

Death of Jesús Santrich Throws Wrench Into Conflict in Venezuela

COLOMBIA / 18 MAY 2021

The killing of a notorious Colombian dissident guerrilla leader on Venezuelan soil has the potential to destabilize underworld dynamics in both countries, fueling an already raging conflict along their shared…

The Unlikely Resistance of a Lone 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.

Frequently Used Tags

About InSight Crime

ABOUT US

THE ORGANIZATION

Unraveling the Web of Elites Connected to Organized Crime

27 JUL 2021

InSight Crime published Elites and Organized Crime in Nicaragua, a deep dive into the relationships between criminal actors and elites in that Central American nation.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Greater Focus on US-Mexico Border

20 JUL 2021

InSight Crime has decided to turn many of its investigative resources towards understanding and chronicling the criminal dynamics along the US-Mexico border.

THE ORGANIZATION

Key Arrests and Police Budget Increases Due to InSight Crime Investigations

8 JUL 2021

With Memo Fantasma’s arrest, InSight Crime has proven that our investigations can and will uncover major criminal threats in the Americas.

THE ORGANIZATION

Organized Crime’s Influence on Gender-Based Violence

30 JUN 2021

InSight Crime investigator Laura N. Ávila spoke on organized crime and gender-based violence at the launch of a research project by the United Nations Development Programme.