Criminal groups are demanding extortion payments from parents who want to send their children to school.
** Weekly InSight
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April 19, 2024
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This week, InSight Crime finalized ([link removed]) preparations for its in-person conference in Mexico City (May 8) on synthetic drug and precursor chemical trafficking. See details below, and register to attend.
InSight Crime also reported ([link removed]) from Zulia, Venezuela, where criminal groups are demanding extortion payments from parents who want to send their children to school.
And in the latest episode of our podcast, we chronicle ([link removed]) how Brazil’s most notorious gang evolved from a rag-tag group of petty criminals into Latin America’s largest criminal organization.
Also, this week, Brazilian authorities allege ([link removed]) that municipal contracts worth tens of millions of dollars were handed to PCC-controlled front companies; criminal elites game ([link removed]) Ecuador’s legal system; Chile’s control of prisons wobbles ([link removed]) ; and wastewater reveals ([link removed]) the extent of Europe’s cocaine habit.
** Coming Event
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InSight Crime invites you to attend our upcoming in-person event in Mexico City. Over four panels, Our investigators and guest experts will discuss topics key to Mexico’s synthetic drug trade, including how precursor chemicals reach the country, how fentanyl impacts organized crime, and why the synthetic drug boom is having increasing environmental and social impacts in Mexico and beyond.
The event is free but tickets are limited. Register now ([link removed]) to secure yours. We will provide transportation from the Marriott Reforma Hotel and a cocktail lunch.
*This event will be held in Spanish. A live stream with English translation will be available
Register ([link removed])
More information ([link removed])
** Featured ([link removed])
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** In Zulia, Venezuela, Not Even Schools Escape Extortion ([link removed])
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A threatening pamphlet sent to residents of a fishing village in the state of Zulia, Venezuela, marked a turning point for the local criminal landscape.
The threat was not directed at traders, shrimp farmers, and cattle ranchers – usually preyed on by criminal gangs operating in the region. This time, in the municipality of La Cañada de Urdaneta, private schools were in the firing line.
Read the article here > ([link removed])
See more coverage from Venezuela > ([link removed])
** Podcast
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All Episodes > ([link removed])
In the latest episode of the InSight Crime Podcast, Crime Strengthens Crime, we explore the birth and evolution of the region's largest criminal group, Brazil's First Capital Command (Primeiro Comando da Capital – PCC), through the eyes of a São Paulo judge.
Listen now ([link removed])
The judge, Ivana David, has been working in the country's prison system for 30 years, giving her a front-row seat to the emergence of the PCC. The PCC’s rise startled Brazil, but it was not an anomaly. In fact, it is part of a region-wide trend where prison-based criminal groups started to dominate the underworld in the Americas.
If you’re interested in what goes into making our podcast, be sure to subscribe ([link removed]) to our special podcast newsletter. Last week, InSight Crime journalist Parker Asmann recounted ([link removed]) his experience meeting Abraham, a Mexican pastor with an unconventional approach to fighting organized crime in the border town of Matamoros, Tamaulipas state.
Listen to the podcast > ([link removed])
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** News Analysis
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** DataInSights: Is Chile Losing Control of its Prisons? ([link removed])
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Chilean authorities appear to be losing control of the country’s prisons, as growing overcrowding tempts criminals into challenging … ([link removed])
Flood of Cocaine Spreads Beyond Europe’s Cities, Wastewater Shows ([link removed])
Brazil’s PCC Wades into Municipal Contracts Game ([link removed])
How Criminal Elites in Ecuador Twist Legal Norms to Skirt Justice ([link removed])
** Impact
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What We Do > ([link removed])
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** InSight Crime Investigations Drive Data Journalism ([link removed])
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This week, data from one of InSight Crime’s flagship products, the 2023 Cocaine Seizure Round-Up, was featured in a data article by The Washington Post. The Post’s article analyzed the alarming rise of Ecuador’s drug gangs using InSight Crime data. “An analysis by InSight Crime of the top five cocaine seizures in Europe in 2023 found that three of the routes from South America were by ship from Ecuador," the Post reported.
Authorities seized over 195 tons of cocaine in Ecuador in 2023 alone, a quantity that has spiked in tandem with the country’s homicide rate. InSight Crime’s regional network of journalists work daily to monitor key events, conduct investigations, and create dependable databases that drive authoritative coverage of organized crime in the Americas.
See The Post’s Article > ([link removed]) [link removed] the 2023 Cocaine Seizure Round-Up > ([link removed])
** This Week's Criminal Profile: Tareck El Aissami ([link removed])
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Former Venezuelan vice-president Tareck El Aissami was arrested last week on charges of treason and misdirection of public funds. Attorney General Tarek Saab said Aissami had participated in a scheme that siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PdVSA). Aissami previously served as Venezuela’s minister of petroleum before abruptly resigning in March 2023 and disappearing from public life. Saab said the scheme had amounted to a conspiracy to “destroy Venezuela’s economy.”
Some analysts have interpreted the arrest as a message from President Nicolas Maduro aimed at keeping elites in line ahead of elections, anticipated later this year. The exact circumstances that precipitated Aissami’s fall from grace remain unclear. Aissami had been a loyal confidante to Maduro and had gradually climbed the rungs of power despite repeatedly being linked to organized crime. In 2017, the United States Treasury Department designated Aissami as a drug trafficking kingpin and offered $10 million for his arrest.
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Read our Tareck El Aissami profile > ([link removed])
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Read our Venezuela coverage > ([link removed])
** Media Mentions
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About Us > ([link removed])
April 12, 2024
The Latin Times ([link removed])
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“U.S. Senator Marco Rubio said that (Tren de Aragua) has reached American cities … but specialized outlet, InSight Crime, said there is scant evidence supporting such claims.”
Read the cited article here > ([link removed])
** Our Trending Topics
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FIRST CAPITAL COMMAND ([link removed])
BRAZIL ([link removed])
CHILE ([link removed])
TREN DE ARAGUA ([link removed])
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