** Weekly InSight
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September 1, 2023
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This week, InSight Crime investigates human trafficking dynamics in two of the US-Mexico border’s criminal hotspots, Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez. Corruption, impunity, and lack of official expertise create the ideal environment ([link removed]) for criminal organizations to take advantage of migrants and other vulnerable populations.
We also explore criminal dynamics in Bogotá, Colombia, where rising crime and insecurity have raised concerns ([link removed]) about the influence of powerful organizations like the Gaitanistas ([link removed]) and the Tren de Aragua ([link removed]) . These groups, however, are unlikely to gain a significant foothold in the Colombian capital.
In Ecuador, we unpack the numbers behind the burgeoning cocaine export business, one of the primary reasons for the country’s current security crisis. One of the least violent countries in the region a few years ago, an influx of cocaine ([link removed]) has raised the stakes for Ecuador’s increasingly violent drug trafficking gangs.
** Latest Investigation
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** The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border ([link removed])
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Officials often portray human trafficking as being controlled by large, organized crime groups -- frequently referred to as “cartels” -- but the reality on the US-Mexico border illustrates that there is a far wider array of groups behind this problem.
There are now several hundred crime groups present across Mexico, each of which operates with varying degrees of power and sophistication and engages in a wide variety of criminal activities. Many of them are also connected to human trafficking.
Chapters
1. Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border: Family Clans, Coyotes, or ‘Cartels’? ([link removed])
2. Death and Disappearance: Human Trafficking in Baja California ([link removed])
3. How Corruption, Complicity Fuel Human Trafficking in Ciudad Juárez ([link removed])
** Featured
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** DataInSights: The Cocaine Problem Ecuador's Presidential Candidates Cannot Wish Away ([link removed])
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Two candidates remain in Ecuador’s presidential race, and, regardless of their security strategies, neither can control the rising production of cocaine, which appears to be fueling the country’s spiraling violence.
The final candidates, Luisa González of the Citizen Revolution Movement (Movimiento Revolución Ciudadana), and Daniel Noboa of National Democratic Action (Acción Democrática Nacional - ADN), will compete in a runoff scheduled for October 15.
Read the article here > ([link removed])
** NewsAnalysis
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All News > ([link removed])
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** Venezuela’s Armed Non-State Actors Bolster Maduro in Election Lead-Up ([link removed])
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As the 2024 presidential race gets underway in Venezuela, political…
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** Gaitanistas and Tren de Aragua Unlikely to War Over Bogotá, Colombia ([link removed])
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Pamphlets dropped in Bogotá and videos circulating on social media suggest a looming conflict between…
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** Plots Against President-Elect Marks Dark Turn in Guatemala's Bitter Election ([link removed])
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In a stunning and detailed declaration, a multilateral human rights body issued a resolution…
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** Colombian Mayors at a Crossroads: Co-Govern With Criminals or Flee ([link removed])
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On the morning of June 4, 2023, during a town celebration in La Playa de Belén in northwestern Colombia…
** Impact
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What We Do > ([link removed])
Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30 daily edition ([link removed]) . It also republished in full on its website the investigation’s chapters on Baja California ([link removed]) and Ciudad Juárez ([link removed]) .
Read the investigation here > ([link removed])
On August 29, our co-director Steven Dudley and investigator Victoria Dittmar held the third edition of the workshop “How to Cover Organized Crime: Investigative Techniques and Gender Awareness” for journalists and researchers in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The workshop brought together 22 journalists and researchers from major media outlets in Honduras.
Read our coverage of gender and crime > ([link removed])
** This Week's Criminal Profile: CIACS
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Guatemala’s Illegal Clandestine Security Apparatuses (Cuerpos Ilegales y Aparatos Clandestinos de Seguridad - CIACS ([link removed]) ) are a series of criminal organizations made up of former intelligence and military officials. Using their expertise, they have assisted drug trafficking organizations and engaged in other criminal activities like contraband and fraud.
They also play a role in corruption schemes like those that President-elect Bernardo Arévalo has promised to tackle, garnering him intimidation and death threats ([link removed]) in the wake of his election.
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Read our CIACS profile > ([link removed])
Read “Valor and the Ghost of the CIACS” > ([link removed])
** Media Mentions
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About Us > ([link removed])
August 29, 2023
AP News ([link removed])
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"‘It’s obviously another attempt to subvert Semilla’s (the Seed Movement’s) path to power,’ said Alex Papadovassilakis, a Guatemala-based investigator for InSight Crime focused on crime and corruption. ‘I think we’re entering uncharted waters.’"
Read our coverage of Guatemala > ([link removed])
** Coming Soon
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** Our Trending Topics
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HUMAN SMUGGLING ([link removed])
TREN DE ARAGUA ([link removed])
US/MEXICO BORDER ([link removed])
ELITES AND CRIME ([link removed])
SUPPORT OUR WORK
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