This week, InSight Crime published the 2023 Cocaine Seizure Round-Up.


** Weekly InSight
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March 22, 2024

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This week, InSight Crime published ([link removed]) the 2023 Cocaine Seizure Round-Up, our highly anticipated annual report. Over 1,260 tons of cocaine were seized in Latin America in 2023, reflecting record cocaine production and continued strong demand.

In Ecuador ([link removed]) , a still-developing corruption case has revealed links between organized crime and the judiciary.

In Peru ([link removed]) , a verdict is near in the emblematic trial of five illegal loggers who brutally murdered indigenous leaders from the town of Saweto in the Peruvian Amazon in 2014.

In Mexico ([link removed]) , the prohibition on fentanyl production by Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel has pushed cooks in Culiacán to migrate production north.

And in Honduras ([link removed]) , InSight Crime talks to Lester Ramírez to learn whether the guilty verdict of ex-President Juan Orlando Hernández will do anything to help clean up the country’s corrupt political and judicial system.

This and more below.


** Featured ([link removed])
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** InSight Crime’s 2023 Cocaine Seizure Round-Up ([link removed])
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Surinamese drug trafficker Brian Blue remains at large months after InSight Crime exposed his suspected ties to the country’s vice president, showcasing his ability to stay off the radar of Surinamese authorities despite his rising international profile.

Three months after InSight Crime revealed that a US Drug Enforcement Administration special agent suspected that Suriname’s Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk had intervened in an August 2020 drug bust linked to Blue, Suriname authorities have not announced any investigation into the trafficker.

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** News Analysis
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** Mexico Fentanyl Production Migrates North as Chapitos Death Threats Loom ([link removed])
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Huddled in the back of a fruit and vegetable stand in the south of … ([link removed])
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** Verdict Near in Emblematic Murder Trial in Peruvian Amazon ([link removed])
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Environmental activists and indigenous communities in the Amazon are awaiting a verdict in … ([link removed])

Metastasis Case Exposes Ecuador’s Corruption Cancer ([link removed])

The Fallout After Honduras’ Narco-State Trial ([link removed])


** Impact
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** Moskitia Investigation Wins Prestigious Award ([link removed])
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InSight Crime’s investigation, Moskitia: the Honduran Jungle Drowning in Cocaine, has won the Ortega and Gasset Award in the category of Best Story or Journalistic Investigation 2023.


The investigation ([link removed]) , written by Juan José Martínez and Bryan Avelar explores the legacy of drug trafficking in the Moskitia region of Honduras, where violent land grabs at the hands of individuals allied with criminal groups are displacing indigenous populations. This three-part series chronicles the lives of the Miskitos fighting for survival, and bears witness to the savage capitalism that is destroying one of the region’s most pristine and unique ecosystems.

The jury highlighted "the completeness of the report that covers transversal topics of our time, such as drug trafficking, the environment, or the threat that looms over ancestral cultures." The report "thoroughly describes day-to-day life in a region devastated by drugs and forgotten by institutions," they added.

Read the investigation > ([link removed])


** This Week's Criminal Profile: Tren de Aragua ([link removed])
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Tren de Aragua is Venezuela’s most powerful gang. Once based primarily in Tocorón prison in Venezuela’s state of Aragua, the group has gradually expanded throughout Latin America. In September 2023, the gang’s leader, Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias “Niño Guerrero,” escaped Tocorón prison during a raid, allegedly after receiving a tip-off from authorities. His whereabouts remain unknown.

In contrast, Niño Guerrero’s brother, Gerso Isaac Guerrero Flores, recently turned up in Barcelona, Spain. He was arrested on March 14 and the Venezuelan government promptly filed a request for his extradition. The arrest raises questions as to what Flores was doing in Europe and whether his detention will do anything to help track down Niño Guerrero himself.
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Read our Tren de Aragua profile > ([link removed])
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Read our Venezuela coverage > ([link removed])


** Media Mentions
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March 7, 2024

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“Many gangs are believed to have ties to members of Haiti’s elite. The G-9 received half its income from Moïse’s government before his death, according to InSight Crime, which investigates criminal networks in Latin America.”

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** Our Trending Topics
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HAITI ([link removed])
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ECUADOR ([link removed])
400 MAWOZO ([link removed])

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