Weekly InSight

This week, InSight Crime revealed how the Tren de Guayana gang has capitalized on its ties with President Nicolás Maduro's government to control mining towns in southern Venezuela. This criminal group has grown exponentially in recent years, and its ties with the state have allowed it to displace its rivals, primarily the Peru Syndicate (Sindicato de Perú).

Also this week, we report on how the looting of archaeological heritage in Peru is rising, accompanied by threats to archaeologists and land trafficking; we delve into the changes in how safe citizens feel in Latin America and the Caribbean according to an annual report on security perceptions; we analyze how a series of criminal activities show how organized crime is establishing itself in Uruguay, a country that so far has no large criminal groups; and we evaluate how migrant smugglers represent an obstacle to new environmental conservation measures in Panama.

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Tren de Guayana, one of Venezuela’s oldest illegal mining groups, allegedly has used ties to President Nicolás Maduro’s administration to push out other criminal groups and solidify its power in the state of Bolívar.


The group began its operations in 2007 as an urban gang in the Vista al Sol neighborhood, in the city of San Félix in Bolívar. In recent years, it has achieved absolute control over El Callao, a mining town located in southern Bolívar known for its gold deposits.


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Read our profile of the Guyana Train >

InSight Crime regularly uses large data sets and field mapping to present the complex dynamics of organized crime in graphics and visual narratives. In 2023, our multimedia team produced more than 800 graphics. We regularly describe the processes behind the most complex data visualizations in our LinkedIn newsletter.

In the latest edition of the Data Vis blog — a collection of the best data visualizations the company finds in the media — Datawrapper includes a graphic we produced to illustrate the exponential growth of violence in Durán, Ecuador, since 2010. Our research on the anatomy of violence in Durán includes multiple graphs that illustrate the spike in homicides, as well as detailing the location and other information about specific events. Explore the full investigation and all its graphics here.


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This Week's Criminal Profile: First Capital Command (PCC)

In Uruguay, deteriorating security conditions, the absence of established rivals, and severe prison overcrowding are factors that experts say the PCC could use to its advantage to establish a presence in the country.

The First Capital Command (Primeiro Comando da Capital - PCC) is one of Brazil’s most powerful gangs.

The group was originally formed in in São Paulo in the 1990s by prisoners who organized groups to defend themselves in Brazil's violent prison system. Since then, it has waged a bloody battle for dominance across the country. In addition to a presence in almost every state in Brazil, the PCC is believed to have expanded its operations to other South American countries, as well as to Europe and Asia.

Trending Topic: Gaitanistas systematically target women in Chocó, Colombia.

The Gaitanistas emerged from the ashes of Colombia's paramilitary movement and have come to control territory across the country.


The group has allegedly circulated a list of women in the department of Chocó, threatening them for their relationships with members of rival criminal groups. The threats come as the Gaitanistas, ELN, and various local gangs battle for territory in the strategic coastal territory.

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