This article explores the security and political effects of militia forces that emerged in Mexico in recent years in reaction to violent organized crime, most prominently in the states of…
Communities in Caracas are turning to private security and vigilante groups in response to the state failures behind Venezuela's security crisis, but examples from around the region show this can…
Mexico's human rights commission has called on government officials to investigate the criminalization of vigilante groups in the state of Michoacan, documenting a series of foreseeable outcomes that are now coming…
Criminal groups are reportedly terrorizing a Venezuela highway that runs through so-called "peace zones," in an ironic manifestation of how ungoverned areas -- in this case fostered by government policy…
A meeting between self-defense forces in Mexico's southwest state of Guerrero ended in violence that left 16 dead, a troubling sign these groups may descend into the sort of bloody…
When Colombia approved the creation of citizen security groups in the early 1990s, it was supposed to bolster the state's fight against violence and crime. Twenty years later, these groups…
Authorities in Mexico have found dozens of mass graves and hundreds of bodies near the city of Iguala since September, when 43 students disappeared from a nearby town, and criminal…
Twelve members of a self-defense group in Mexico's Michoacan state went missing after going out on patrol in November 2014. Their families now say that police were involved -- whatever…
A recent study shows an alarmingly high support for vigilante justice in numerous countries in the Americas, a phenomenon linked to a lack of faith in often corrupt and inefficient…
It would be easy to think that given all that has happened in Mexico's Michoacan state over the last few months, everything has changed. Knights Templar leader Servando Gomez, alias "La…
The capture of yet another high-level target -- this time Servando Gomez, alias "La Tuta," the leader of the Knights Templar -- should be cause for celebration in Mexico, but…
An intelligence report has revealed that the armed group the Viagras, which forms part of Mexico's government-backed vigilante force, is actually a criminal enterprise operating under the façade of the…
About InSight Crime
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…
Europe Coverage Makes a Splash
Last week, InSight Crime published an analysis of the role of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport as an arrival hub for cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico. The article was picked up by…
World Looks to InSight Crime for Mexico Expertise
Our coverage of the arrest of Chapitos’ co-founder Ovidio Guzmán López in Mexico has received worldwide attention.In the UK, outlets including The Independent and BBC…
InSight Crime Shares Expertise with US State Department
Last week, InSight Crime Co-founder Steven Dudley took part in the International Anti-Corruption Conference organized by the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor and…
Immediate Response to US-Mexico Marijuana Investigation
InSight Crime’s investigation into how the legalization of marijuana in many US states has changed Mexico’s criminal dynamics made a splash this week appearing on the front page of…
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