Zetas

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'Somos.': One of Mexico's Worst Massacres Told Through its Victims

HUMAN RIGHTS / 14 JUL 2021

The new Netflix series, “Somos.,” (We Are), offers a respectful but powerful look at the Allende massacre, one of the most brutal episodes of Mexico's war on organized crime, which…

Why is Veracruz Mexico's Most Dangerous State for Political Murders?

ELITES AND CRIME / 3 JUN 2021

Running for office in Mexico means risking one's life. Just one week ahead of local elections on June 6, at least 89 political candidates had been killed during the current…

From Street Gangs to Presidents: InSight Crime's Decade of Covering the Underworld

COCAINE / 18 NOV 2020

At InSight Crime’s 10th anniversary conference, presenter Robert Muggah described the primary reaction he has received when collaborating with the organization across Brazil, Colombia, Peru and El Salvador. “Wherever we…

Mexico Cartels Hand Out Food Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

COVID AND CRIME / 28 APR 2020

Recent cases of criminal groups distributing supplies in Mexico suggest that the coronavirus pandemic has presented an opportunity to cultivate popular support and consolidate territorial control in areas where people…

The US-Mexico Border’s Eastern End: A Forgotten Criminal Enclave?

COCAINE / 12 SEP 2019

While Mexico’s drug war has left much of its frontier with the United States threatened by cartel violence, a fine-tuned criminal strategy has allowed the border’s eastern extremity to remain…

Los Moreco, Worrying New Type of Criminal Group for Costa Rica

COSTA RICA / 3 MAY 2019

A new criminal group in Costa Rica, Los Moreco, is causing concern as their tactics, reach and admiration for Mexico's Zetas make them a far more powerful gang than the…

Veracruz Massacre Crowns Bloody Start of 2019 in Mexico

GULF CARTEL / 24 APR 2019

An infant was among more than a dozen people killed in a massacre during the heart of Holy Week in Mexico, underscoring the depth of the security challenges…

A Guatemala Drug Trafficking Chapter Ends in the US

ELITES AND CRIME / 22 FEB 2019

A judge lowered the sentence of a convicted Guatemalan drug trafficker in a US court on February 22, just weeks after US federal authorities released another convicted Guatemalan trafficker from…

Fragmentation: The Violent Tailspin of Mexico's Dominant Cartels

JALISCO CARTEL / 16 JAN 2019

Fragmentation has come to define Mexico’s criminal landscape as the days of monolithic drug cartel structures have ended, leaving behind smaller, more volatile criminal groups that have taken up other…

Migrant Caravan in Mexico Changes Course, but Dangers Still Lurk

KIDNAPPING / 13 NOV 2018

A caravan of Central American migrants traveling to the United States has changed its intended route to avoid the Texas-Mexico border — a move that shows even such a large…

The Mexico Crime Bosses Peña Nieto’s Government Toppled

BELTRAN LEYVA ORG / 24 SEP 2018

When Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto took office in 2012, he put together a list of 122 alleged criminals whose arrests would be “high-priority” in the country’s fight against organized…

Trump’s Border Policies Strengthen Organized Crime. Here’s How.

BARRIO 18 / 20 JUN 2018

The Trump administration’s stated purpose of “zero tolerance” of illegal immigration on US borders is to lower crime rates, but research shows that the net effect may be the opposite.

Mexico's Zetas: From Criminal Powerhouse to Fragmented Remnants

MEXICO / 6 APR 2018

The Zetas were once Mexico’s most feared and violent organized crime threat. Now, the group is a fragmented shadow of its former self. InSight Crime looks at what happened, and…

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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.