Weekly InSight

This week, InSight Crime publishes an in-depth investigation into how the recruitment of women as informants by Colombia’s state security forces in the northeastern edge of the country led to a spike in femicides. 


We also report from Ecuador, where our reporters analyze last weekend’s overwhelming endorsement of a series of security reforms proposed by President Noboa in a national referendum. 


Also this week, Mexican authorities continue to target relatives of drug kingpins; Ecuador gets sanctioned for inadequately regulating the shark-fin trade; and Guatemala’s President Arévalo grapples with entrenched corruption during his first 100 days in office. 


Scroll down for all of this, plus details on our imminent conference on synthetic drugs in Mexico City. Registration closes soon.

Latest Investigation

A banging on the door echoed throughout the house.


It was a Sunday morning in January 2021, in Tibú, a municipality in the Colombian department of Norte de Santander, near the Venezuelan border.


“We heard the knocking, and I looked at my husband,” said Mar.* “We weren’t expecting anyone, and we were surprised at such insistent, forceful knocking.”


Read the investigation >

Ecuadorians delivered an overwhelming show of support for President Daniel Noboa’s hardline security policies in a referendum held as the government’s popular “war on gangs” enters a challenging new phase.


The vote, held on April 21, was largely seen as a popularity test for Noboa’s agenda so far. Noboa became president in late 2023 amid unprecedented violence and has since used emergency powers to stage a militarized crackdown on Ecuador’s criminal gangs. Polls suggest most Ecuadorians support the president’s campaign. 


Read the article here > 

See more coverage from Ecuador >

InSight Crime reporters traveled to Barcelona, Spain, to collect the prestigious Ortega and Gasset prize for our investigation, The Moskitia: The Honduran Jungle Drowning in Cocaine.


Written by Juan Martínez d’Aubuisson and Bryan Avelar, the Moskitia investigation chronicles how drug trafficking destroys the rainforest and threatens indigenous communities on Honduras’ remote northern coast. At the ceremony, Martínez d’Aubuisson and Avelar were presented with the award for “best story or journalistic investigation.”


In his acceptance speech, Martínez d’Aubuisson spoke of his commitment to investigating how transnational crime impacts the lives of powerless populations.


“This is precisely the kind of journalism I have bet my life on,” he said. “And it is the only one I want to continue doing.”


He also thanked Moskitia’s indigenous communities for educating him and guiding him through the remote jungle.


Read the investigation >

See more coverage from Honduras >

This week, Mexican authorities arrested the brother of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” the fugitive leader of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG). 


Though El Mencho’s brother is not believed to be a major player in the CJNG, authorities hope his capture will derail the group’s operations. 


El Mencho and the CJNG have already weathered the detention of numerous close family members.  Another of El Mencho’s brothers was arrested in December 2022. And, in 2021, police picked up his wife, who was later charged with money laundering. 


Despite the arrests, authorities have come no closer to capturing El Mencho, who remains Mexico’s most wanted criminal, nor managed to significantly disrupt the CJNG. The US Drug Enforcement Administration has offered a record $10 million bounty for information leading to his arrest.

Upcoming Event

InSight Crime 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 of charge but registration is required to attend in person. We offer transportation from the Marriott Reforma Hotel and a cocktail lunch. Event registration to attend in person is closing soon. 


If you are unable to attend in person, you can join us by connecting to the live webcast on YouTube, in English or Spanish.


Register to attend in person >

More information >

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