** Weekly InSight
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January 12, 2023
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This week, we cover how a gang leader’s escape from prison in Ecuador and the subsequent state response sparked ([link removed]) a massive show of force by the country’s criminal groups. We analyze how President Daniel Noboa’s rapid militarization of the crisis without a coherent long-term plan poses major risks for Ecuador's security situation going forward.
We also report from Juárez, Mexico, where the “war on drugs” launched by President Felipe Calderón in 2006 hit especially hard. While Juárez’s violence levels have dropped since the Calderón administration, the trauma of that time period produced ([link removed]) a generation of young people vulnerable to gang recruitment, violence, and substance addiction.
Additionally, to close out 2023, we highlight our top five criminal newsmakers ([link removed]) of the year. Colombia’s ELN ([link removed]) took the top place, with the guerrilla group capitalizing on the “Total Peace” policy to launch offensives against its enemies and expand criminal economies. The Sinaloa Cartel ([link removed]) and Tren de Aragua ([link removed]) also ranked highly on the list.
** Special Series
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** ‘Children of War’: How Violence and Addiction Rob the Youth of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico ([link removed])
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On the face of one of the most emblematic mountainsides in Ciudad Juárez, onlookers can read the enormous text of a Bible verse that evangelical Christians inscribed a quarter-century ago: “The Bible is the Truth.”
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** A Look From Within: Navigating Extreme Violence in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico ([link removed])
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Jesús Ángel Estrada* has helped many at-risk youth as a social worker for a non-profit in Ciudad Juárez, the sprawling manufacturing hub on the US-Mexico border. But he still struggles with the case of a boy who saw his father murdered in front of him.
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** Featured
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** GameChangers 2023: Top 5 Criminal Newsmakers ([link removed])
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Five groups have stood out in InSight Crime’s coverage during 2023. We analyze why, and what they tell us about criminal developments in Latin America and the Caribbean over the year.
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Read the complete GameChangers 2023 series > ([link removed])
** NewsAnalysis
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** Ecuador’s Explosive War on Gangs Lacks Exit Strategy ([link removed])
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Ecuador’s gangs have unleashed an explosion of violence in response to the new administration’s efforts to rein in criminality, but the…
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** Arms Trafficking Case Puts Europe-Paraguay Pipeline on the Map ([link removed])
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Thousands of weapons trafficked from Europe and Turkey with the help of corrupt officials and later…
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** 3 Takeaways From Transparencia Venezuela’s Illicit Economies Index ([link removed])
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The Venezuelan government’s failure to prevent the proliferation of organized crime groups means four…
** Impact
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What We Do > ([link removed])
InSight Crime’s coverage continued to deepen and inform the debate on organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean during 2023. We published 15 in-depth investigations ([link removed]) on topics ranging from environmental crime in the Amazon ([link removed]) to synthetic drug production in Mexico ([link removed]) . Local, regional, and global media relied on our coverage thousands of times, helping us reach a broader audience. Our from-the-field research made that impact possible. During the year we conducted 38 field trips throughout the region and interviewed more than 1,000 key people: criminals, activists, and public officials, among others. In 2024, we want to continue to unmask organized crime. Please consider donating to support our work.
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** This Week's Criminal Profile: Lobos
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The Lobos are Ecuador’s largest criminal group and were a primary driver of the country’s sharp security downturn in 2023. Security officials suspect the group was behind the takeover of news station TC Televisión by armed men in Guayaquil on January 10. The same day, officials announced that a key leader of the group, Fabricio Colón Pico, had escaped from prison, just days after he was arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate a top prosecutor.
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Read our Lobos profile > ([link removed])
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Read our latest on Ecuador > ([link removed])
** Media Mentions
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January 10, 2023
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"‘This isn’t just one group they have to corral. These are 22 different groups. They are an atomized series of criminal organizations, some of them with connections to international groups,’ said Steven Dudley, co-director of InSight Crime."
Read our Ecuador coverage > ([link removed])
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