Weekly InSight

This week, InSight Crime explores Colombia’s “Total Peace” initiative through the personal story of Henry Holguín, a former hitman for Pablo Escobar turned crucial negotiator in the urban peace process in Medellín. The government faces a huge challenge in negotiating with the city’s plethora of ever-shifting criminal groups.

Also in Colombia, we examine the takeaways from President Gustavo Petro’s ambitious new drug policy plan. Petro plans to give “oxygen” to those who have been wronged by the war on drugs, such as coca cultivators, while “asphyxiating” drug traffickers and money launderers behind the drug trade and violence.

In Chile, we look at how a burgeoning domestic marijuana market and strong economic links to China have made the country appealing for Chinese mafia groups involved in a range of criminal economies.

Latest Investigation

Escobar’s Former Hitman Takes the Road to 'Total Peace' in Medellín, Colombia

Henry Holguín looked out from the empty second-floor balcony of a small restaurant in La Bayadera, a busy industrial neighborhood in the city of Medellín.

"This was a 'red zone.' It was wild ... You couldn't even sell a joint here without my authorization," Holguín remembered with satisfaction.

Read the investigation here >

Featured

Why Chinese Mafias Are Moving Into Chile

A series of police operations have revealed how a Chinese criminal gang has made strong inroads into Chile, benefiting from the country’s flourishing marijuana trade and close trade ties to China.

In late August, a criminal complaint in Santiago stated that over 200 Chinese migrants had been illegally brought to Chile from the Chinese mainland since 2021. The complaint, filed by the Trade Association of Chinese Culture and Commerce in Chile (Asociación Gremial de Cultura y Comercio China en Chile), alleged that the migrants made their way to Argentina, Brazil, or Bolivia, and were then brought into Chile, paying between $2,500 and $8,000 each.

Read the article here >

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s recent National Drug Policy (2023-2033) (Política Nacional de Drogas).

Read more about the plan here >

Also this week, InSight Crime staff were interviewed on a variety of subjects. Co-director Jeremy McDermott spoke on Ecuador’s Radio City 89.3 FM about the country’s security crisis, investigator Sara García was interviewed by Unión Radio in Venezuela about the threat of fentanyl in the country, and managing editor Chris Dalby appeared on Aristegui Noticias to talk about the growing use of drones by organized criminal groups in Mexico.

This Week's Criminal Profile: Tren de Aragua

Starting as a prison gang in the state of Aragua, Venezuela, Tren de Aragua has used connections within the Venezuelan government and security forces to consolidate its control over a variety of criminal economies, including human trafficking, extortion, and contraband.  

The gang has the largest transnational reach of any in Venezuelan history. Cells in Colombia, Peru, Chile, and other countries make it one of the region’s primary criminal threats.

Coming Soon

     *Please note that this event will be conducted in Spanish.

Our Trending Topics

SUPPORT OUR WORK

We go into the field to interview, report and investigate. We then verify, write and edit, providing the tools to generate real impact in fighting organized crime.