InSight Crime
@InSightCrime
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14 years of research and analysis on organized crime and corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Medellín, Colombia / Washington, DC
Joined June 2010
Where is the Tren de Aragua? InSight Crime investigated the Venezuelan gang for three years, tracking its expansion to seven countries. Learn more about its presence in Colombia, Peru, Chile, and the United States:
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🇻🇪 | The Venezuelan military targeted camps belonging to the Second Marquetalia for the first time in an operation likely to bolster the ELN guerrilla group:
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🎧 In Colombia’s Pacific region, the Quito River is a battleground, where monstrous dredges tear into the riverbed, spewing mercury and arsenic into the waters. Listen to our narrated story about the ELN and the AGC fighting for control of the illegal gold trade there:
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🇪🇨 | US media are reporting the arrest of Ecuador's ex-interior minister, José Serrano. For years, Serrano has dismissed rumors of connections to organized crime - but now he faces accusations of being involved in the murder of a presidential candidate:
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🇨🇴 | A car bombing near Cali and the downing of a military helicopter in Antioquia left 18 dead yesterday. Petro now says he’ll label FARC dissidents behind the attacks as terrorist groups — which could complicate peace talks and open the door to harsher military action:
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🔎 Our new weekly video, On the Radar, breaks down the top organized crime stories in Latin America. This week:. ▪️ El Mayo’s guilty plea in the US. ▪️ Bolivia’s runoff and cocaine policy. ▪️ Venezuela-Guyana drug routes.Watch here:
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🇵🇾 ☀️ | Paraguay is the latest country to designate the Cartel of the Suns a terrorist organization after the US sanctioned the group. But the US characterization misrepresents the cartel’s structure and operations. Learn more below.
insightcrime.org
The US government’s new sanctions against Venezuela’s Cartel of the Suns incorrectly portray it as a hierarchical drug trafficking group.
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🇸🇻Learn about the Bukele President's attempts to expand his judicial offensive to new targets and territories. El Salvador has more than 800 active Interpol Red Notices, 10 times more than countries with higher levels of crime, such as Colombia.
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🇨🇷 | After his arrest in one of Costa Rica’s worst narco-corruption scandals, the US Treasury sanctioned four people, including former Security Minister Celso Gamboa, for drug trafficking and money laundering. Learn more here:
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Authorities used the tattoos visible on Sebastián, a Salvadoran man captured in Colombia in March 2025, to claim that he is a Barrio 18 gang member. But he has no Barrio 18 symbols on his skin. Read his story here:
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🇨🇴 Who is Chiquito Malo? And how did he become the leader behind Colombia’s criminal powerhouse, the Gaitanistas? Find out in our #SummerInSights profile on this kingpin.
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🇨🇷 | New US court files directly link former Costa Rican security minister Celso Gamboa to Sinaloa Cartel boss Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias “El Mayo,” revealing new details about Costa Rica’s worst ever narco-scandal:
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🇵🇾 ☀️ | Paraguay joined Ecuador in declaring the Cartel of the Suns a terrorist organization this week. But what is the Cartel of the Suns and how much of a threat does it pose in Latin America? Read our analysis to learn more.
insightcrime.org
The US government’s new sanctions against Venezuela’s Cartel of the Suns incorrectly portray it as a hierarchical drug trafficking group.
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#NewAnalysis | Chiquito Malo: Warlord of Colombia’s AGC Crime Conglomerate.
insightcrime.org
Colombia’s most wanted criminal, Chiquito Malo is the leader of one of Colombia’s most powerful crime groups.
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🔎 On the Radar: This week we look at El Mayo Zambada’s probable guilty plea in the US, Bolivia’s runoff election and its impact on cocaine, and shifts in Guyana’s drug trade. Watch here:
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🚨 We're now on Bluesky! Find us as @insightcrime.org. Follow us for more in-depth analysis and coverage on organized crime in the Americas. 👉
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🇬🇾 | Cocaine flows through Guyana are rising, mostly coming from Venezuela. Traffickers are moving drugs by boat, plane, and even semisubmersibles—as Guyanese officials described Venezuela as a “narco-state” fueling the trade:
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👉On the Radar is here: a new weekly video the top stories on organized crime in Latin America. From criminal alliances to drug routes and policy decisions, all with context and expert analysis.
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☀️For this year’s #SummerInSights series, we’re profiling some of the most notorious criminal leaders whose power and influence are shaping the Latin American organized crime scene. Check out the series here
insightcrime.org
This year, we are featuring several of the region’s biggest crime lords from four countries: Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico. In each, we examine a different kingpin’s rise to power, explore...
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🇲🇽 | Sinaloa Cartel boss Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias “El Mayo,” is preparing a guilty plea in US court. In exchange for leniency, he may testify not only against his own organization, but also political and business elites connected to organized crime:
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