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 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 about the influence of powerful organizations like the Gaitanistas and the Tren de Aragua. 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 has raised the stakes for Ecuador’s increasingly violent drug trafficking gangs.
