This week, InSight Crime looked at how changes in the supply of fentanyl and the proliferation of “M30” pills in the United States could explain a reduction in overdose deaths.

Elsewhere, we connect the rise of extortion in Honduras with the emergence of new, smaller criminal groups; review the most-read criminal actor and group profiles during 2024, and analyze the expansion of domestic and foreign criminal groups in Chile.

This is the last edition of Weekly InSight for this year. Over the next few weeks, we will publish our annual Criminal GameChangers series, beginning on December 23 and running through January 6. You will receive each new chapter directly to your inbox. On January 10, we will have an exclusive donor event to discuss the series with our directors and our most experienced in-field investigators.

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Do Changes in Mexico’s Fentanyl Production Explain a Drop in US Overdoses?

Kevin González was at a point of total desperation when he decided to check himself into an addiction treatment center in the Mexican city of Nogales, in the state of Sonora, on the US border.

After more than a decade of using fentanyl and other opioids in Phoenix, Arizona, González said his body could no longer find relief from the usual doses. The pain, insomnia, and anxiety of withdrawal were unbearable, and the pills on the streets lacked enough potency to take effect.

“I was consuming 50 fentanyl pills a day, sometimes smoking four at a time. They weren’t enough,” González told InSight Crime in November when he was three months into treatment.

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Upcoming event | Exclusive to donors

On January 10, 2025, we will host a virtual panel in English. Some of our most experienced in-field investigators, along with directors Jeremy McDermott and Steven Dudley, will discuss the key findings of our annual Criminal GameChangers series, which kicks off December 23, as well as the regional criminal landscape and challenges for the coming year. To access the panel, you can make a donation starting at $10. Login details will be sent to the email address registered when you make your donation.

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The investigations “The Informants of Tibú: How the Colombian State Unleashed a Wave of Femicides, ” written by Alicia Flores and Lara Loaiza, and “The Gangster Governor of Zulia: The Rise and Fall of Venezuela’s Omar Prieto” by our Venezuela Investigative Unit were nominated for the Fetisov Journalism Awards 2024 in the category “Exceptional Investigative Reporting.”

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This Week's Criminal Profile: Pablo Escobar

Even 30 years after his death, Pablo Escobar remains the emblem of a nearly extinct drug trafficking era dominated by hierarchical groups in Colombia. His life, marked by extreme violence and ostentatious wealth, continues to shape organized crime narratives. Contemporary manifestations of his legacy, ranging from pop culture to the environmental impact of his infamous hippos, underscore his status as a controversial historical and cultural icon.

End of the year recommendation| Podcast

Trending: Migrant passage through the Darien fell in 2024

December 18 was International Migrants Day, an opportunity to remember that migrant crossings through the Darien jungle, which connects Colombia and Panama, decreased by 41% in 2024, according to Panama's National Migration Service. This decrease, representing more than 300,500 fewer people compared to 2023, was attributed to measures taken by the Panamanian government and adverse weather conditions. Authorities stress that the migratory flow continues to be challenging as thousands of people seek to reach the United States by this route.

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