Criminal Governance Thrives in Latin America as Resistance Erodes

Dear Reader 

It's that time of the year again. InSight Crime brings you our annual Criminal GameChangers series, where we look at the biggest developments of the year in organized crime, and then give you our unrivalled insights on what's to come in 2025.

From Ecuador’s dramatic fall into organized crime chaos, to how governments are handling the challenges to politics and policy by powerful criminal groups, our GameChangers size things up. And who else is going to lay out, in detail, how migrants and cocaine are some of the biggest cash cows for criminal operators in the region? The first chapter is out now. 

And if you need a briefer on everything in the Criminal GameChangers series, don’t miss our virtual panel, where we will talk to some of the most experienced researchers in the field about the most important findings in the field, challenges and predictions for security and crime in 2025.

You can now read the first chapter:

CHAPTER 1

Resistance to Organized Crime Withers

In 2024, government resistance to organized crime weakened. In our year in review, co-directors Steven Dudley and Jeremy McDermott look at where and how that has happened in the Americas. 

Spoiler alert: governments themselves appear to be increasingly in league with the criminals.

Forthcoming publications

1 - Resistance to Organized Crime Withers

2 - Crime Cashes in on Migration Boom - Dec 26

3 - Ecuador Finds Victory Elusive in ‘War on Gangs’’ - Dec 27

4 - Organized Crime Gets Political - Dec 30

5 - Networks Replace Cartels in Cocaine Trade - Jan 02

6 - Narco Money Scandals Reach the Apex of Political Power in the Americas - Jan 03

7 - Global Cocaine Networks and Trump 2 - Jan 06

Regards,
The InSight Crime Team