Weekly InSight

This week, InSight Crime looks at how the 45-year sentence handed down by the United States to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández could affect drug trafficking dynamics in the country. 


We also analyze the factors driving violence in Colombia, where armed groups are fueling a rise in violence and displacements despite ongoing Total Peace talks with the Colombian government. 


In addition, we explain why extortionists have turned their focus to private schools in northern Peru; evaluate the effectiveness of Honduras’ state of emergency in tackling organized crime; and review why negotiations with the Second Marquetalia guerilla group appear the most promising of the government’s peace dialogues in Colombia. 


This and more below.

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A US court has sentenced former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández to 45 years in prison, marking the end of a spectacular legal process that may do little to change the drug trafficking flows from the Central American nation. 


For Hernández, who is 55, it will likely mean he spends the rest of his life behind bars.  

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Explore our full Juan Orlando Hernández series >

InSight Crime was cited in the US government’s sentencing submission against Juan Orlando Hernández. The cited investigation, Murder, Corruption, and Drugs: The Ledgers That Could Sink Honduras’ Ex-President, tells the story of how drug ledgers became key pieces of evidence in the trial of the former Honduran president. 


InSight Crime has provided authoritative coverage of Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted of trafficking cocaine while in office and sentenced to 45 years in prison by a US court on Wednesday. 


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Read our Juan Orlando Hernández profile >

On Tuesday, around 400 members of Kenya’s multinational police force arrived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as a part of a US-backed effort to tackle gangs and improve security in the country, where the state has all but collapsed and gangs control swathes of the capital city.


400 Mawozo, Haiti’s largest gang, rose to prominence in 2021 after they kidnapped 17 American and Canadian missionaries. The gang is involved in multiple criminal economies such as kidnapping, extortion, and trafficking along the border with the Dominican Republic. With a consolidated presence in the country and access to high-powered weaponry, 400 Mawozo poses a substantial challenge to the international security mission.

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