InSight Crime

🇪🇨 | The alleged leader of a US-designated foreign terrorist organization lives freely in Spain. How did a former prison guard evade extradition after founding one of Ecuador’s most powerful gangs? https://bit.ly/4yifPoO

🇻🇪 | The government of Nicolás Maduro fostered the conditions for establishing a criminal system in Venezuela, profiting from illicit activities such as drug trafficking and illegal mining. Why does this criminal system continue without him? Find the answer here: https://bit.ly/3UndzhN

🇧🇷 | Lula begins his fourth presidential term facing a complex security agenda. Criminal groups in Brazil are expanding into new illegal economies, as money laundering investigations expose links between organized crime and the financial sector. Read our analysis: https://bit.ly/4yGyOcU

🇸🇻 | In one of the most extensive judicial processes under President Nayib Bukele’s state of emergency, El Salvador has indicted more than 560 suspected leaders of the Barrio 18 gang. What has Bukele’s iron fist meant for gangs in the country? More: https://bit.ly/4BuqD6m

🇧🇷 | Booming demand for GLP-1 medications and their generic substitutes has driven weight loss medications to now become one of the most smuggled contraband products in Brazil. Which criminal groups are suspected of driving the trade?

#NewAnalysis | Gangs, Fintechs, and the Amazon: The Crime Agenda Awaiting Lula’s Fourth Term: https://bit.ly/4yGyOcU

The Cartel of the Suns is often described as a traditional drug cartel. Our investigations show something more complex: a corruption network connecting state officials, armed groups, drug trafficking, and illegal gold mining. Watch our video to learn how it works: https://bit.ly/4cRV77i

🇪🇨 | How did the Lobos become one of Ecuador’s most powerful gangs in just a few years? More on how the former prison gang has become a key player in transnational drug trafficking and illegal gold mining:

🇨🇴 | Digital extortion has gained ground in Colombia, according to a study by the DNP and Asocapitales. Between January and April 2026, extortion increased by 8% compared to the same period in 2025. Read our coverage of this criminal dynamic in the region here: https://bit.ly/4dOmLTp

🇭🇹 | Another election delay in Haiti raises questions about whether the country can overcome a gang-driven security crisis that have paralyzed its institutions. https://bit.ly/4BiEvAh

🎙️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 episode of The InSight Crime Podcast, now available on your favorite podcast platform.  https://bit.ly/45Cl7iZ

🇸🇻 | More than 560 suspected leaders of the Barrio 18 have been indicted by El Salvador in one of the most extensive judicial processes under the country’s state of emergency. How has President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on gangs affected the country’s security landscape? https://bit.ly/4BuqD6m

🇧🇷 | Public security is at the center of Brazil’s presidential runoff on Sunday. While Flávio Bolsonaro emphasizes cooperation with the US against criminal organizations, Lula warns against foreign interference. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3T0lzVD

🇧🇷 | As Brazil prepares for Sunday’s presidential runoff, the US terrorist designations of the PCC and Comando Vermelho have fueled debate. Flávio Bolsonaro supports the move, while Lula has raised concerns about potential threats to Brazilian sovereignty. https://bit.ly/3T0lzVD

🇭🇹 | Haiti’s elections have been postponed once again, with no new date set. As criminal groups expand their influence, the country’s path back to democracy grows increasingly uncertain. Read our coverage: https://bit.ly/4BiEvAh

🇸🇻 | El Salvador indicted more than 560 suspected leaders of the Barrio 18 gang for nearly 14,500 crimes committed since 2012 in one of the biggest judicial proceedings promoted under President Nayib Bukele’s state of emergency. https://bit.ly/4BuqD6m

🇧🇷 | Brazil heads to the polls on October 25, for a presidential runoff between incumbent President Lula and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, Jair Bolsonaro’s son. Public security and the fight against organized crime are defining issues in the race. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3T0lzVD

#NewAnalysis | Organized Crime Postponed Democracy in Haiti, Again: https://bit.ly/4BiEvAh

🇧🇴 | The department of Santa Cruz, in Bolivia, is experiencing a wave of violence linked to organized crime and the increased flow of cocaine through the country. Santa Cruz is part of a strategic corridor leading to international markets. Read more: https://bit.ly/4xSa7Kd

The 2020 assassination of one of Ecuador’s greatest kingpins left a power vacuum which rival factions have been fighting over ever since. His story still shapes the country’s criminal landscape and security crisis. Read more about alias “Rasquiña,” here: https://bit.ly/4dUhoSJ

Gio was one of Ecuador’s best-known gangsta rappers. He was also part the inner circle of the country’s most notorious drug lord and leader of the Choneros gang, "Fito." . 🎧 Listen to his story in the new episode of the InSight Crime Podcast. https://bit.ly/4gfjxJ7

🇧🇴 | The Bolivian government deployed 230 police officers to Santa Cruz in response to a wave of criminal violence. Santa Cruz is part of a strategic cocaine trafficking corridor that connects production areas with Brazil. Read more:  https://bit.ly/4xSa7Kd

🇨🇴 | Digital extortion has gained ground in Colombia, according to a study by the DNP and Asocapitales. Between January and April 2026, extortion increased by 8% compared to the same period in 2025. Read our coverage of this criminal dynamic in the region here: https://bit.ly/4dOmLTp

On the same day in 2025, the Choneros and Lobos were declared foreign terrorist organizations by the US. Behind these groups' rise was the Choneros Federation created by Jorge Luis Zambrano, alias “Rasquiña”. Learn more about this criminal titan: https://bit.ly/4dUhoSJ

Honduras will build a maximum-security prison inspired by El Savador’s CECOT. How is Nayib Bukele’s megaprison strategy against gangs and organized crime spreading across the region? More here: https://bit.ly/4zbefqG

A US court handed a Guatemalan human smuggler a 30-year prison sentence over the death of 53 migrants in 2022. How have human smuggling networks adapted to changing migration routes? https://bit.ly/43mvoPo

🇪🇨 | You can trace a direct line from Ecuador’s prisons crisis to the spiraling violence and criminal chaos that plague the country today. We do just that in our latest video: https://bit.ly/4zLipoB

Every local story reveals something bigger. Our reporting connects community experiences to the criminal dynamics shaping the Americas. Subscribe to Weekly InSight for the latest investigations: https://bit.ly/3UDKkaU

🇨🇴 | Extortion in Colombia increased in the first four months of 2026, following a 3.2% decline in 2025, according to a report by the DNP and Asocapitales. Learn more about extortion in Latin America and the Caribbean at: https://bit.ly/4dOmLTp

The Choneros, one of Ecuador’s most powerful criminal groups, was created by Jorge Luis Zambrano, alias “Rasquiña,” from prison. Explore to find out more about the man who turned his cell into a command center here: https://bit.ly/4dUhoSJ

Honduras approved plans to build a maximum-security prison modeled after El Salvador’s CECOT, designed to hold suspected gang members. How many countries across Latin America have followed Nayib Bukele’s hardline security playbook? More here: https://bit.ly/3T2JIev

Criminal trends, security updates, and stories from the field delivered to your inbox every week. Subscribe to InSight Crime’s newsletter for the most comprehensive analysis of organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean.  https://bit.ly/4y0dzmm

A Guatemalan human smuggler received a 30-year prison sentence in the United States for his role in the death of 53 migrants in 2022. How has human smuggling into the United States changed since then? https://bit.ly/43mvoPo

🇲🇽 | The Chapitos and Mayiza factions of the Sinaloa Cartel have been waging an internal conflict for the last two years. Just this week, authorities arrested five Chapitos members suspected of being involved in the kidnapping and murder of 10 mine workers: https://bit.ly/3VWpXGs

🇪🇨 | Ecuador’s prisons were the incubators of the criminal groups that have turned it into one of the most violent countries in the world. We dive into the full history of its prison crisis in our new video: https://bit.ly/4zLipoB

🇧🇷 | The wife of Red Command’s leader Marcinho VP was arrested in connection with the gang’s monopoly over internet services. How does the Red Command’s control over internet services work? https://bit.ly/3FHlobg

🇭🇹 | Four Salvadoran soldiers went missing following a gang attack on foreign troops in Haiti. It is the first major attack since the start of operations by an international force. Learn more about organized crime in Haiti in our profile: https://bit.ly/3CMLacG

🇧🇷 | Brazilian police arrested 25 suspects linked to the Red Command’s role in internet provision in Rio de Janeiro. How have Brazilian gangs expanded their control over internet services? https://bit.ly/3FHlobg

🇪🇨 | Ecuador’s move to reclassify prisoners by how dangerous they are is the latest in a long line of attempted—and largely failed—reforms. Check out our new video to understand the history of Ecuador’s prison crisis: https://bit.ly/4zLipoB

🇲🇽 | Mexican authorities arrested five alleged members of the Chapitos, including alias “El Talibán,” who is suspected of being involved in the kidnapping and murder of 10 mine workers in January 2026. Read more about the war between the Chapitos and Mayiza: https://bit.ly/3VWpXGs

🇭🇹 | Gangs in Haiti are defying international forces. An attack in Croix-des-Bouquets, a stronghold of the 400 Mawozo gang, left four Salvadoran soldiers missing. Which criminal groups are operating in Haiti? Read our profile: https://bit.ly/3CMLacG

A Guardian investigation highlights the expansion of Latin American organized crime in Europe. Groups such as the PCC have found European countries to be an ideal place for laundering money and collaborating with local criminal networks. Read more: https://bit.ly/40yU4Cq

🇨🇱 | A member of the Tren de Aragua was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Chile for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of former Venezuelan military officer Ronald Ojeda in 2024. Read more about the case and the Tren de Aragua gang: https://bit.ly/3U1NOE8

An operation in Rosario, Argentina, led to the arrest of six people suspected of belonging to a retail drug trafficking network linked to Los Monos. Violence has declined, but criminal groups remain active in outlying neighborhoods. What’s happening? Read more: http://bit.ly/4lN7WCe

🇵🇪 🇦🇷 | A triple femicide in Argentina in 2025 exposed a criminal network with unusual ties to Peru. Now, the arrest in Lima of alias “Papá,” the supposed leader of the gang allegedly behind the crime, has once again drawn attention to the case. Read more here: http://bit.ly/4nCLJrI

🇪🇨 | The alleged leader of a US-designated foreign terrorist organization lives freely in Spain. How did a former prison guard evade extradition after founding one of Ecuador’s most powerful gangs? https://bit.ly/4yifPoO

🇪🇨 | As of September 2026, the US has designated four criminal groups in Ecuador as foreign terrorist organizations: the Choneros, Lobos, Tiguerones, and Chone Killers. How did Ecuador go from being a peaceful country to a criminal hub? Find out more here: https://bit.ly/3Sg2Hh0

Chilean courts sentenced one of the individuals involved in the murder of a former Venezuelan military officer, attributed to the Tren de Aragua, to 20 years in prison. Learn more about the case, which also examines the alleged role of Diosdado Cabello: https://bit.ly/3U1NOE8

Six suspected members of a drug trafficking gang linked to Los Monos, one of Argentina’s best-known criminal groups, were arrested in Rosario. Despite a decline in homicides, organized crime persists in the city. Read our analysis: http://bit.ly/4lN7WCe

Extortions, disappearances, the constant fight for dignity and for life. These are the stories behind organized crime.  🎧 Listen now on or your favorite platform. https://tr.ee/4BNW_8_Ait