Weekly InSight

This week, InSight Crime explores intelligence reports we received from confidential sources within the Salvadoran police. Contrary to government claims that the country’s gangs have been dismantled, 43,000 identified gang members remain free, and gangs still pose a threat to the country’s security.

In Venezuela, we cover the implications of the government’s mobilization of 11,000 troops to take control of the Tocorón prison, the stronghold of the country’s most powerful gang, the Tren de Aragua. While the loss of the group's base is a blow, its leaders remain at large and its operations mostly intact.

Costa Rica has set a new homicide record in 2023 with three months left in the year. Former security officials told InSight Crime that the lack of coordination between security forces severely hinders the country’s anti-narcotic and anti-violence efforts.

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El Salvador Police Reports Contradict Bukele's Triumphalism

More than a dozen confidential reports from El Salvador’s National Civil Police obtained by InSight Crime reveal that, although "weakened" after a year and a half under a state of exception, the three main gangs operating in El Salvador remain a subtle threat.

The Mara Salvatrucha (MS13), Barrio 18 Sureños, and Barrio 18 Revolucionarios still maintain 54 armed groups, mostly in rural areas. Nearly 43,000 people who have been profiled as gang members remain at large. These people have been classified into three categories: active members (homeboys), aspiring members (chequeos), and "collaborators," a broad designation for those who allegedly work with or for these gangs, assisting in a number of tasks.

Read the article here >

Has Venezuela Prison Raid Smashed Tren de Aragua?

The Venezuelan government claimed to have “utterly dismantled” the powerful Tren de Aragua gang after seizing one of the country’s most notorious prisons. Yet the operation smacks of political theater as the gang’s leadership escaped and its operations remain largely untouched.

Standing outside Tocorón prison in the central state of Aragua on September 21, Venezuelan Minister of Interior, Justice, and Peace Admiral Remigio Ceballos lauded the operation by 11,000 soldiers and officials, backed by armored vehicles, which took control of the jail.

Read the article here >

InSight Crime investigator Victoria Dittmar spoke on a Spaces panel on X, formerly known as Twitter. The panel, which was moderated by news outlet El País México, discussed the criminal implications of the extradition of Guzmán, one of the leaders of the Chapitos, to the United States.

Listen to the space here >

Read our recent article on Guzmán’s extradition >

This Week's Criminal Profile: Niño Guerrero

When Venezuelan security forces raided Tocorón prison on September 20, Tren de Aragua’s leader, Niño Guerrero, was nowhere to be found. From Tocorón, Niño Guerrero led Tren de Aragua’s expansion both within Venezuela and internationally, controlling lucrative extortion, human smuggling, and human trafficking operations across the continent. Currently in hiding, he remains one of Venezuela’s most powerful criminals.

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