Mexico's armed forces have reportedly killed Knights Templar leader Enrique "El Kike" Plancarte in a shootout. His death comes just weeks after the killing of the Knights' main leader Nazario…
A dissident faction of a vigilante group in Mexico's Guerrero state has allegedly attacked other community police, in a sign this group, like their Michoacan neighbors, is experiencing major cracks…
The arrest of a top vigilante leader in Michoacan has sparked tensions between the self-defense movement and Mexico's government, and internal disputes and alleged criminal infiltration are causing growing concern over…
The killing by Mexican navy commandos of bizarre Michoacan gangster Nazario "The Craziest One" Moreno will prove a short lived victory for both the government and the "self-defense" militias it…
The death of Knights Templar leader "El Chayo" in Mexico has had little outward effect on the group's leadership structure, though the take down of the group's spiritual guide could…
Nearly a year after the vigilante movement arose in Michoacan, Mexico, the militias are now suffering divisions over the thorny issue of the integration of former Knights Templar members into…
Mexico's Pacific coastal state of Guerrero is the site of escalating chaos, a problem partly hidden by the federal government's single-minded focus on the neighboring state of Michoacan.
The reach of southwestern Mexico's self-defense militias has swelled in recent weeks, but while in some parts of the country they have been aided by federal forces, in others they…
A meeting between a senior government official and a leading member of Mexico's self-defense militias in Michoacan has put both sides on the defensive after details emerged of the vigilante…
Mexico's so-called "self-defense" groups have participated in their first major joint operation with state security forces, making numerous arrests in the Michoacan capital of Apatzingan. Some vigilantes were unarmed, others…
Mexico nationals living in the United States are helping fund the country's ever-growing self-defense militias, while recent gruesome murders indicate the internal armed conflict will not be calming down any…
Mexico mining companies extorted by criminal groups are reportedly paying Michoacan self-defense forces for protection, a development that places the groups on a disturbingly similar path to that taken by the…
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InSight Crime Events – Border Crime: The Northern Triangle and Tri-Border Area
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…
InSight Crime’s ‘Memo Fantasma’ Investigation Wins Simón Bolívar National Journalism Prize
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…
InSight Crime – From Uncovering Organized Crime to Finding What Works
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. …
InSight Crime – Ten Years of Investigating Organized Crime in the Americas
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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