This week, InSight Crime travels deep into the wilds of the Moskitia, a tropical rainforest on the border between Honduras and Nicaragua
** Weekly InSight
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December 1, 2023
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This week, InSight Crime travels ([link removed]) deep into the wilds of the Moskitia, a tropical rainforest on the border between Honduras and Nicaragua, to witness how drug traffickers are destroying one of the most biodiverse forests in the region and the Miskito Indigenous people’s way of life.
We also follow up ([link removed]) on the story of Johana Flores, who was arbitrarily detained in El Salvador in January 2023 on terrorism charges. After 309 days incommunicado, she was released on November 22, in part thanks to an InSight Crime investigation that showed her innocence.
Meanwhile, in Venezuela, we examine the proliferation ([link removed]) of falsified medicines smuggled into the country. And in neighboring Trinidad and Tobago, we dissect ([link removed]) the vicious cycle of gang violence and why gang truces are ineffective in the long run.
We also take a regional look at what the results of the 2023 Gallup Global Law and Order report tells us about perceptions of violence ([link removed]) in Ecuador, Venezuela, and El Salvador. Further afield, we analyze ([link removed]) what China’s announcement of increased restrictions on precursor chemicals could mean for fentanyl production in Mexico.
** Featured
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The region of the Moskitia on the border between Honduras and Nicaragua is one of Central America’s last great wildernesses, a paradise of pristine ecosystems and biodiversity. But today, the jungle of the Moskitia is dying. And it is organized crime that is killing it.
First came the drugs, as traffickers turned the region’s coasts and forests into a cocaine corridor. Then came the traffickers themselves, financing invaders that are clear-cutting thousands of hectares of forest and fencing off vast tracts of land with barbed wire and armed guards.
The region’s Indigenous Miskito people have been left trapped in desperate poverty, and are caught between the traffickers and an indifferent state. But some are now preparing to fight back.
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** News Analysis
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** Counterfeit Medicine: Another Symptom of Venezuela’s Health Crisis ([link removed])
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An ongoing health crisis in Venezuela has opened the door for criminal groups to supply fake medications.
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** China’s New Fentanyl Controls May Impact Production in Mexico ([link removed])
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The United States, China, and Mexico have committed to cooperation on fentanyl, hoping to reduce the flow of the drug's precursors to Mexico.
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** El Salvador Frees ‘Terrorist’ Johana Flores ([link removed])
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Salvadoran authorities arrested Johana Flores for alleged links to gangs. She had none. Now, following an InSight Crime report, she is free.
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** 3 Takeaways From the 2023 Gallup Law and Order Report ([link removed])
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After years at the bottom, Gallup reports that public perception of security in Latin America and the Caribbean has improved.
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** Venezuelan Gang Leaves Trail of Dead in Roraima ([link removed])
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The Venezuelan mega-gang, Tren de Aragua, is advancing in Brazil and allying itself with criminal groups, including Brazil's infamous PCC.
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** Do Gang Truces Prevent Violence in Trinidad and Tobago? ([link removed])
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Two gangs agreed to a truce after a month of violence, but truces have been ineffective at reducing bloodshed.
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** Gaitanistas License Migrant Smuggling in Colombian Darién Gap ([link removed])
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InSight Crime outlines the criminal groups operating along this route, as well as the state weaknesses that allow them to dominate this area
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Thinking about giving back this Thanksgiving? Consider supporting InSight Crime's mission to improve citizen security in Latin America and the Caribbean. We do this by going into the field to investigate organized crime and providing timely, insightful analysis that informs public policy on topics like migration, drug trafficking, and money laundering.
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** Impact
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El Salvador’s armed forces arrested 24-year-old Dalila Johana Flores in January 2023. She remained imprisoned, with no way to contact either her family or her lawyer, for 309 days under El Salvador’s state of emergency – even though the state had access to conclusive documentation proving her innocence just days after her arrest.
In late October, InSight Crime investigated her case, showing that there was no evidence whatsoever that she had links to El Salvador’s gangs targeted by the state of emergency. Four weeks after the investigation was published, Johana was freed. Civil society groups have credited InSight Crime’s investigation for the review of Johana’s case and her subsequent release, but there are likely many more people in a similar situation.
Read our analysis of Johana’s release > ([link removed])
Read the original report > ([link removed])
** This Week's Criminal Group: The Shottas
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This week, the Shottas reaffirmed their intention to participate in President Gustavo Petro’s Total Peace negotiations, even as the group continues to square off with their rivals, the Spartans (Espartanos), over drug trafficking routes throughout Colombia’s Pacific port city of Buenaventura. With no legal framework yet established for the state to negotiate with non-political armed groups, violence looks set to continue.
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Read our Shottas profile > ([link removed])
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Read our interview with the Shottas > ([link removed])
** Media Mentions
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November 26, 2023
Rolling Stone ([link removed])
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“Barbecue is now more powerful in parts of Port-au-Prince than the elites who spawned him, says Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, a think tank that studies organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Read our Barbecue profile > ([link removed])
** Our Trending Topics
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SECURITY POLICY ([link removed])
HUMAN SMUGGLING ([link removed])
FENTANYL ([link removed])
TREN DE ARAGUA ([link removed])
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InSight Crime is sponsored by:
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