Weekly InSight
This week, InSight Crime publishes a new investigation into one of the deadliest massacres in the history of women’s prisons in Latin America. We investigate the events that led to the massacre, which claimed the lives of 46 women in Honduras’ National Female Penitentiary for Social Adaptation (PNFAS) in June this year, and tell the stories of Sonia and Adriana, who experienced the tragedy firsthand.

In Uruguay, we analyze the evolution of the country's criminal organizations, which, due to the small size of the domestic drug market, seem destined to remain local. But should conditions change, the country may see the arrival of major drug trafficking organizations. 

In Paraguay, we explore the criminal ties between the country’s new cabinet and recently inaugurated President Santiago Peña, who will have to deal with the influence of organized crime if he is to stamp out corruption. 

Finally, we spoke with drug trafficking expert Yulia Vorobyeva about the growing expansion of cocaine markets in Europe amid climbing demand for cocaine. 

Featured

The Timebomb That Exploded Twice: Behind The Massacres in Honduras' Women's Prison

With a blaring siren, the Honduran Prison Police patrol car dodges through Tegucigalpa's congested morning traffic, screeching into the Escuela Hospital. In the trunk with two other women is Adriana,* a former Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS13) gang member, squeezing her leg with her hands to try to contain the bleeding from an open wound.

The paramedics and police begin to get the women out of the patrol car. Two women, seriously wounded by bullets or machete cuts, are placed on stretchers and quickly admitted to the operating room. Meanwhile, Adriana is placed on the sidewalk, where she waits her turn to receive medical attention. 

Read the investigation >

NewsAnalysis

Uruguay's Homegrown Crime Groups Likely to Stay Local, Study Says


Uruguay’s local gangs likely will not become a national threat, but the government’s current policies are insufficient to roll back a...

Paraguay's New Cabinet Shadowed by Criminal Ties


Paraguay’s new president, who was sworn in on August 15, will face entrenched organized criminal interests, some of which appear to...

Amazon Protection Pact Falls Short on Tackling Organized Crime 


South American nations have signed a landmark pact to protect the Amazon rainforest, but the agreement fails to...

Europe: Cocaine’s Ever-Expanding Market


European ports are being inundated with huge quantities of cocaine, with recent record seizures suggesting that the arrival of large cocaine shipments to the continent is...

Impact
Non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch relied on InSight Crime's coverage this week, citing six articles and one of our criminal profiles in its latest report on the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, where criminal gang violence has become a daily occurrence for the country's inhabitants.

Among the citations were our analysis of how gangs took advantage of the collapse of Haiti's security forces, the impact of the gangs on agricultural production amid a food crisis, and whether the 'Bwa Kale' self-defense movement has become a new criminal threat. 

Read more about our Haiti coverage >

This Week's Criminal Profile: Lobos
InSight Crime published an analysis of how the atomization of Ecuador's criminal landscape may be behind the upsurge in violence the country has seen in recent weeks. The Lobos, which dominate the country's largest gang confederation, are one of the groups hiring professional killers, like those who recently claimed the life of a presidential candidate. 
Read our article, "4 Reasons Why Ecuador Is in a Security Crisis" >
Read our Lobos profile >

Media Mentions
AUGUST 12, 2023
CHANNELS TV
"Villavicencio said last week he had received several threats from Los Choneros, one of Ecuador’s most powerful criminal groups which the InSight Crime think tank said became the armed wing of a Colombian drug cartel."

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InSight Crime · Medellin · Medellin 0000 · Colombia