Weekly InSight
May 12, 2023 ([link removed])

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This week, InSight Crime publishes an in-depth, seven-part investigation ([link removed]) , breaking down the complex global supply chain that provides precursor chemicals to manufacture methamphetamine and fentanyl in Mexico. This report highlights the chemical companies manufacturing and selling the precursors in China and India, the transnational network of buyers sourcing the precursors, and the chemists and cooks synthesizing the drugs in Mexico. It also discusses whether Mexico can realistically stymie the production of meth and fentanyl.

In Haiti, we look at the potential criminal future of a vigilante movement ([link removed]) called "Bwa Kale,” which has killed over 100 alleged gangsters. In Ecuador, we consider whether the Choneros gang can survive the death of one of its last remaining leaders. And we break down ([link removed]) how a recent academic study found common stories among potential criminal recruits in Mexico.


** Featured ([link removed])
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** How Precursor Chemicals Sustain Mexico's Synthetic Drug Trade ([link removed])
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The production of fentanyl and methamphetamine requires key ingredients known as precursor chemicals. Because of their illicit uses, these substances are highly regulated around the world.

Yet synthetic drug producers in Mexico have found ways to circumvent regulations to obtain the precursor chemicals, and a sophisticated network of brokers has allowed them to find and buy pre-precursors, less regulated chemicals used at an earlier stage of the production process for methamphetamine and fentanyl. These drugs are then transported across the border by groups like the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG.

Read the full investigation > ([link removed])


** NewsAnalysis
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All News ([link removed]) >
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** Haiti’s Anti-Gang Vigilantes May Pose Future Criminal Threat ([link removed])
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Anti-gang vigilantism is spreading and gaining public support amid escalating insecurity in Haiti, raising the possibility that such...

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** Ecuador's Choneros To Fragment Further After Ex-Leader's Murder ([link removed])
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The murder of a notorious Ecuadorian gang leader, Junior Roldán, alias "JR," in Colombia reveals how…

Mexican Groups' Recruitment Tactics Unveiled In New Study ([link removed])
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Paraguay Election Dims Chances of Corruption Crackdown ([link removed])


** Impact
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What We Do ([link removed])


** InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited
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We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received. It has been covered by Mexican outlets such as Sin Embargo, ([link removed]) Revista Espejo ([link removed]) , and Eje Central ([link removed]) , as well as newspapers around the world, such as France’s Courrier International ([link removed]) , and the regional media site, Infobae ([link removed]) .

Our continuing coverage of Mexican organized crime groups has continued to lead to further analysis, including The Economist ([link removed]) which cited InSight Crime’s investigation into iron ore smuggling and Cambio 22’s ([link removed]) republication of our breakdown of the recent Chapitos indictment.

Read the full investigation > ([link removed])


** Criminal Actors
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Profiles of some of the notable criminal personalities and groups that have marked this week.

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** Sinaloa Cartel ([link removed])
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The Sinaloa Cartel, often described as the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in…
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** Choneros ([link removed])
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The Choneros is one of Ecuador’s most prominent criminal groups, which first emerged in the late 1990s as a drug…


** Media Mentions
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About Us ([link removed])
MAY 8, 2023
AMERICAS QUARTERLY ([link removed])

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" Latin America is producing more cocaine than ever before, and this has a knock-on effect not just through the Andes, but throughout Latin America."

Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, told the Americas Quarterly podcast.

Read our cocaine coverage here > ([link removed])


** Our Trending Topics
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