Weekly InSight

This week, InSight Crime published its 2023 Homicide Round-Up. More than 117,000 people were murdered in Latin America last year, though there was much diversity in homicide rates between countries. Ecuador and Costa Rica both experienced sharp flare-ups in homicide rates, while other countries experienced sharp drops, notably El Salvador. Check out this year’s Homicide Round-Up to explore the data and read our full analysis. 

Also this week … 

In Colombia, authorities arrested a major drug trafficker who laundered illicit revenues through front companies that financed and produced musical events. We explain why the entertainment industry provides attractive opportunities for money launderers and the common methods used by criminals to obscure their illegal funds. 

In Costa Rica, partly in response to the uptick in homicides, the government proposed a package of 10 policies aimed at curbing the worsening security situation. We outline why the new measures alone are insufficient to curb the country’s increasingly entrenched crime crisis. 

In Venezuela, several corruption scandals have rocked the country’s judicial system in recent months. We look at the latest scandals and analyze how the system has been deliberately crippled under Maduro’s government, pushing many workers in the sector to corrupt activity.

In Trinidad and Tobago, a string of prosecutions against artists of the popular “Trinibad” music genre has highlighted the links between the music industry and crime. But just how much is music to blame for Trinidad and Tobago’s criminal dynamics? 

This and more below. 

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InSight Crime’s 2023 Homicide Round-Up

At least 117,492 people were murdered in Latin America and the Caribbean during 2023, putting the median homicide rate around 20 per 100,000 people. But homicide data in many countries is missing or unreliable, so the actual number is likely higher.

This year, we present our Homicide Round-Up with an interactive map, accompanied by our analysis of the organized crime dynamics behind the violence in each country in the region. A downloadable PDF version of the report is also available on our website.

Read the Homicide Round-Up >

Our researchers continue to provide authoritative analysis on how criminal groups in Latin America produce, traffic, and sell synthetic drugs. Fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid, killed more than 70,000 people in the United States in 2023, and criminal groups including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) use Mexico as a key production and trafficking hub for the drug. 

This week, lead investigator Victoria Dittmar spoke to Deutsche Welle about the illegal fentanyl trade and what can be done to curb the synthetic drugs crisis. Our precursor investigative series explores how synthetic drugs are made, which criminal groups operate in the illegal fentanyl market, and why government policies have so far largely failed to tackle the synthetic drugs boom. 

Read the latest chapter of our precursor investigation >

Read the full report >

This Week's Criminal Profile: The First Capital Command - PCC

The First Capital Command (PCC) is Brazil’s largest criminal organization and Latin America’s largest gang. Initially formed in the 1990s as a prisoners’ rights movement, today the PCC has an increasingly international reach, with known strongholds in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru.

The PCC featured prominently in this week’s Homicide Round-Up and has been linked to murders across the continent. The group also has a tight grip on cocaine routes from Brazil to the United States, Asia, and Europe. In November 2023, a leaked report from Portuguese security services indicated that as many as 1,000 associates of the PCC were active in Lisbon, underscoring the group’s growing power. 

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