InSight Crime
@insightcrime.org
14 years of research and analysis on organized crime and corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean.
For years, sex workers in Lima have faced extortion and violence from a range of criminal actors. But with the arrival of Tren de Aragua, that violence reached a new level. 🎧 In the latest episode of The InSight Crime Podcast, we explain how it happened. https://bit.ly/45Cl7iZ
🇨🇴 | The Colombian Attorney General's Office has charged alias "Calarcá Córdoba," leader of the General Staff of Blocks and Front (EMBF), in absentia for his alleged involvement in homicides, kidnappings, torture, and other crimes. Learn more in his profile: https://bit.ly/3H5l9rg
🇧🇴 | With nine dead in five days in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, authorities are worried that a turf war between neighboring Brazil’s biggest gangs has reached Bolivia, which has become home to criminal organizations from around the region. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3ON3N6b
☀️The first edition of #SummerInSights examines Washington's renewed war on drugs. From terrorist designations to military operations, the United States is expanding its approach to organized crime. What does that mean for Latin America? Read more. https://bit.ly/4wVDGKI
🇲🇽 | Tony Montana, brother of El Mencho, recently pleaded guilty in the United States to drug trafficking charges. Tony Montana was also a member of the CJNG, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico. Read our profile: https://bit.ly/4dgdws6
🇧🇷 | The Tren de Aragua gang found a new ally in Brazil: Comando Vermelho, the country's second most powerful gang, to which Tren de Aragua allegedly supplied weapons. Read more about the criminal scheme uncovered by authorities in our analysis: https://bit.ly/3UaVL9q
🇨🇴 | Colombia gets a new president this week. An explosion outside the headquarters of the Norte de Santander Departmental Police in Cúcuta, which left 12 police officers and 3 civilians injured, highlights the criminal challenges that he will face. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3ROrMTG
🇪🇨 | President Daniel Noboa deployed 4,000 police and military to Quito in response to a surge in violence in the city. Disputes between criminal groups that have plagued other parts of Ecuador appear to be spreading to the capital's neighborhoods. Read more: https://bit.ly/4sEYGTV
☀️Maduro is gone. But Venezuela's criminal landscape did not disappear with him. This week's #SummerInSights examines how criminal networks adapted after his arrest. https://bit.ly/4vUonkI
🇭🇳 | What awaits former president Juan Orlando Hernández after his return to Honduras? On August 3, a judge barred him from leaving the country while he faces trial for fraud and money laundering for the alleged embezzlement of $10.8 million. Read more about the case: https://bit.ly/4b26h7b
🎙️Season 2 of The InSight Crime Podcast has officially begun. Five new stories from across Latin America. A new episode every week. In English and Spanish. 🎧 Go beyond the kingpins and get to know the stories of the people affected by organized crime. https://bit.ly/4wYeP9c
🇨🇱 | Chilean courts have sentenced 17 people involved in a ketamine trafficking network originating in Peru. This drug has become increasingly common in Chile since 2018, and most shipments are traced back to neighboring countries.
Aumenta el tráfico de ketamina en el próspero mercado chileno de drogas sintéticas
Incautaciones récord de ketamina en Chile muestran cómo esta droga se abre paso en el ya extenso mercado de drogas sintéticas en el país.
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🇲🇽 | Security forces in Mexico arrested Alfonso Fernández Magallón, alias “Poncho la Quiringua,” in Michoacán. He is the alleged leader of the Los Reyes Cartel, one of the groups belonging to Carteles Unidos. Learn more about this criminal alliance in our profile: https://bit.ly/3TAMQOz
How much changed after Nicolás Maduro's arrest? Less than many expected. Explore this week's #SummerInSights on the criminal order that survived political upheaval.
Reshuffled or Reformed? Venezuela’s Criminal Order After Maduro
Maduro's unprecedented arrest shook Venezuela’s power structures—both legal and illegal. We’ve been tracking the impacts.
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🇨🇴 | In Colombia, an attack against the Norte de Santander Departmental Police is the latest in a series of attacks attributed to the ELN in the days leading up to the presidential inauguration. Learn more about the challenges facing Colombia's next president. https://bit.ly/3ROrMTG
🇲🇽 | The brother of “El Mencho,” longtime leader of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG), pleaded guilty in the United States to drug and weapons charges. Read our profile on this criminal group to learn more about criminal family ties: https://bit.ly/4dgdws6
🇧🇷 | An operation against the gang Tren de Aragua in Brazil reveals the new tactics that have allowed the group to expand its operations without resorting to violence. Learn more in our new analysis: https://bit.ly/3UaVL9q
🎙️Tren de Aragua grew powerful in Lima through the profits from extorting sex workers. And it left a trail of blood of those who refused to pay. 🎧 Listen to the latest episode of The InSight Crime Podcast, now available on your favorite podcast platform. https://bit.ly/45Cl7iZ
🇲🇽 | Alias “R1,” leader of a cell linked to the CJNG, was captured for his connection to the murder of Mayor Carlos Manzo in Michoacán. The CJNG has a decentralized structure, in which leaders like R1 play a crucial role. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4dgdws6
Authorities in Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Cuba made multiple seizures of liquid cocaine in July, a method increasingly used to conceal the drug amid everyday products. Learn more about this trend here: https://bit.ly/4aZ43Hi
🇧🇷 🇵🇾 | Nearly 160 tons of marijuana were removed from illicit markets in South America thanks to joint efforts by Paraguay and Brazil. How important is marijuana trafficking to organized crime in the region? Read more: https://bit.ly/3NUNcwB
🇵🇪 | Keiko Fujimori has wasted little time following in her father’s footsteps: security forces killed an alleged Shining Path commander in Peru’s main coca-growing region just a day after she took office. Read our profile of the group: https://bit.ly/3MngwrH
🇧🇷 | Around $400 million in illicit cash moved through a multi-state jogo de bicho operation in Brazil. These illicit lotteries have long been mainstays of Brazil’s underworld. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/4bQoC8x
Keiko Fujimori is now Peru's president. In her first address, she pledged to use the armed forces during states of emergency to fight organized crime. She inherits an extortion epidemic, an illegal mining boom, and a Congress that's ousted 8 presidents in 8 years. https://bit.ly/4yMRt86
🇲🇽 | Mexican authorities have captured alias “R1,” the alleged mind behind the murder of a mayor in Michoacán and leader of a cell linked to the CJNG cartel. Learn more about the history and criminal activities of the CJNG in our profile: https://bit.ly/4dgdws6
Bolivian authorities seized 1,643 containers of liquid cocaine, disguised as vinegar bottles, destined for Europe. These types of seizures are becoming increasingly common in the region. Learn more in #OntheRadar: https://bit.ly/4aZ43Hi
Ángela Villón and Leida Portal have experienced firsthand every form of violence faced by sex workers. Today, they help others resist the threat from Tren de Aragua. 🎧 Hear their story in the latest episode of The InSight Crime Podcast.
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🇵🇪 | Extortion, an illegal mining boom, and a hostile Congress: Can Keiko Fujimori end Peru’s cycle of political and security crises? Read InSight Crime’s analysis: https://bit.ly/4wicFkB
🎙️Tren de Aragua grew powerful in Lima through the profits from extorting sex workers. And it left a trail of blood of those who refused to pay. 🎧 Listen to the latest episode of The InSight Crime Podcast, now available on your favorite podcast platform. https://bit.ly/45Cl7iZ
