InSight Crime takes you on a journey to uncover the impacts of illegal gold mining in Colombia’s Chocó.
** Weekly InSight
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May 24, 2024
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This week, InSight Crime takes you on a journey ([link removed]) to uncover the impacts of illegal gold mining in Chocó, Colombia. Our multimedia essay shows how criminal groups in the region use environmentally damaging machinery to extract precious metals from riverbeds.
The final episode of the debut season of the InSight Crime podcast explores ([link removed]) the life of Raúl Mijango, a politician and former rebel leader who led negotiations between the government of El Salvador and the country’s gangs.
We also analyze ([link removed]) how Brazil’s crackdown on environmental crime in the Amazon has pushed illegal mining into Venezuela; what the extradition of the alleged leader of the Pochos drug clan to the United States means ([link removed]) for trafficking dynamics in Guatemala; and Spain’s rise ([link removed]) as a prominent transit point for methamphetamine from Mexico to Europe.
** Featured
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** The Dragons of Chocó: Illegal Gold Mining in Colombia’s Rivers ([link removed])
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Riding up the Quito River, trees claw their way to the edges of the riverbanks, forming an impenetrable forest wall lining the water.
Then, suddenly, the world opens.
The trees that walled us in have jumped back more than half a kilometer, leaving a barren wasteland. The river, which had until then gently curved back and forth, is now a nearly straight line.
Then, the first dragon appears.
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** New Episode: The Rebel and the Peacemaker ([link removed])
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In our latest episode ([link removed]) , we explore the incredible life of Raúl Mijango, the rebel turned congressman turned gang mediator turned inmate who personified what has since become a lost cause in El Salvador: negotiating with street gangs. Ironically, he may have been one of the first victims of a controversial, hard-line strategy that has since led to the incarceration of tens of thousands of Salvadorans.
This was the last episode of our first season of InSight Crime’s Podcast. If you want to listen to the full season, you can do it on Spotify ([link removed]) , Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) , YouTube ([link removed]) , or Amazon Music ([link removed]) .
** NewsAnalysis
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** Mexican Methamphetamine Increasingly Moving Through Europe ([link removed])
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Significant methamphetamine seizures in Europe demonstrate how Mexican criminal organizations are expanding their transit points … ([link removed])
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** US Turns Screw on Enduring Guatemala Drug Clan ([link removed])
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The extradition of an alleged Guatemalan drug trafficker linked to the Sinaloa Cartel is a blow to one of the country’s most infamous drug clans. But the group is … ([link removed])
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** Illegal Mining Grows in Southern Venezuela, as Brazil Tightens Grip ([link removed])
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Recent reports from military operations and civil society groups indicate that the presence of Brazilian miners in the south of Venezuela is growing following a government offensive in Brazil … ([link removed])
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** Extradition of Precursor Chemical Broker Hits Heart of Synthetic Drug Trade ([link removed])
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Mexico’s extradition of a chemical broker to the United States marks a significant step against these middlemen, who occupy an essential but often overlooked position in … ([link removed])
** Impact
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InSight Crime’s maps and graphics continue to be widely cited by policymakers, state institutions, and media outlets. This week, Ecuador’s Coast Guard gave a presentation using InSight Crime’s maps to articulate the key drug trafficking dynamics in the region.
Ecuador has rapidly become a key link in global cocaine supply chains, something that was underscored ([link removed]) at the beginning of this year in wake of record seizures. Cocaine production has soared, and criminal gangs exploit the country’s extensive coastline and busy ports, transforming Ecuador into a key cocaine export hub.
InSight Crime’s graphics are based on research from our investigators, who report from the field to deliver authoritative analysis on organized crime trends in the region.
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** This Week's Criminal Profile: Tren de Aragua ([link removed])
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Born in the cells of the Tocorón prison in the mid-2010s, Tren de Aragua has swiftly risen to become Venezuela’s most powerful homegrown organized criminal group and the first Venezuelan group to project its presence abroad. The group’s domestic growth was fostered by long periods of impunity under the government of President Nicolás Maduro, while its transnational expansion came on the backs of Venezuelan migrants.
Tren de Aragua has established cells in Colombia, Peru, and Chile, concentrating its activities in border areas with clandestine crossings or in urban areas with large Venezuelan migrant populations. In early May, 38 members of the Gallegos — an alleged Tren de Aragua cell in Chile — faced trial in Arica, a town near the Peruvian border. Drug trafficking, kidnapping, homicide, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation are among the charges against them.
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** Media Mentions
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May 17, 2024
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"López Obrador's political ally and front-runner Claudia Sheinbaum faces off against opposition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez in the June 2 election, and the winner will inherit a puzzle more complex than the governments before them, said Victoria Dittmar, a researcher at InSight Crime."
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** Our Trending Topics
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