** Weekly InSight
------------------------------------------------------------

January 31, 2025

View in your browser ([link removed])

This week, InSight Crime published ([link removed]) an in-depth analysis of how innocent bystanders in Brazil are increasingly caught in the crossfire as criminal groups, embroiled in violent turf wars, take offense to hand gestures and social media posts.

We also examined ([link removed]) rising violence in Ecuador’s El Oro Province following a military crackdown that weakened criminal leadership; dissected ([link removed]) the jailhouse murder of an alleged participant in the assassination of Paraguayan anti-mafia prosecutor Marcelo Pecci; analyzed ([link removed]) why Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s regime is arming state workers; and explored ([link removed]) how surging violence highlights Haitian gangs' growing political power.


** Featured
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]


** Deadly Gestures: Brazilian Gangs Crack Down on Hand Signs ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

In Brazil, where shifts in gang dynamics have created new violent hotspots, innocent bystanders are becoming victims of turf wars as criminal groups react violently to innocuous hand gestures and social media posts.

According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), 16 people were executed in 2024 for motives directly linked to hand gestures, up from 4 in 2023. Many of them had unwittingly posted photos with the gestures on social media.

The numbers are almost certainly an undercount due to the ambiguity surrounding many of Brazil’s homicides.

Read the article here > ([link removed])

See more coverage from Brazil > ([link removed])


** News Analysis
------------------------------------------------------------

All News > ([link removed])
[link removed]


** Ecuador’s Lobos Turn El Oro Province Into Battleground ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

The Ecuadorian coastal province El Oro has emerged as a new hotspot for violence, as splintering criminal groups compete for control of … ([link removed])
[link removed]


** From Paraguay to Colombia: The Murderous Reach of Transnational Crime ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

The discovery of new evidence linked to a deceased witness in the case of Marcelo Pecci, a prominent … ([link removed])
[link removed]
[link removed]


** What’s Behind the Distribution of Weapons to Public Employees in Venezuela? ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

Venezuela’s regime, led by Nicolás Maduro, has distributed weapons to state workers and militias … ([link removed])


** Haiti Violence Surges as Gangs Expand Influence ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

Haiti’s gangs caused thousands of deaths and the displacement of over a million people in the past year, according to the United Nations, highlighting the extreme … ([link removed])


** Impact
------------------------------------------------------------

What We Do > ([link removed])
[link removed]

InSight Crime Co-Director Steven Dudley appeared ([link removed]) on the popular Mexican TV show Largo Aliento to discuss fentanyl and precursor chemicals — an issue our organization has spent nearly a decade researching, from Chinese chemical wholesalers to the US-Mexico border.

Earlier in January, we published ([link removed]) the latest chapter of our investigation into synthetic drugs and precursors, revealing how fentanyl producers are experimenting with new products and methods to enhance their potency

Read the latest chapter of the investigation > ([link removed])
Explore our Fentanyl coverage > ([link removed])


** This Week's Criminal Profile: Sebastián Marset
------------------------------------------------------------

Sebastián Marset is Uruguay’s most famous drug trafficker and the leader of an international network known as the First Uruguayan Cartel (Primer Cartel Uruguayo – PCU). This week, Spain authorized the extradition of Gianina García Troche, the partner and alleged accomplice of Marset, to Paraguay. García Troche was arrested in July 2024. A series of arrests targeting key players in Marset’s inner circle suggests the dismantling of his network, as authorities close in.
[link removed]

Read our Sebastián Marset profile > ([link removed])
[link removed]

Read our Uruguay coverage > ([link removed])


** Multimedia
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]

January 27, 2025

"With the arrival of Donald Trump, Venezuela could face two very different paths: greater international pressure through sanctions or a more moderate diplomatic approach. In both scenarios, illicit economies would continue to play a key role."

See our Instagram story (Spanish) > ([link removed])


** Media Mentions
------------------------------------------------------------

About us > ([link removed])

January 28, 2025

The Dallas Morning News ([link removed])
[link removed]

"Reporting by InSight Crime has documented how Tren de Aragua exploited the mass migration of Venezuelans to Colombia, Peru, and Chile that began in 2018 to transform itself from a local Venezuelan prison-based gang into a transnational criminal organization."

Read our Venezuela coverage > ([link removed])


** Trending: Colombia to Receive Flights of Deported Migrants from the United States
------------------------------------------------------------

After a tense exchange on social media, the governments of Colombia and the United States announced that the Latin American country would continue receiving flights with deported Colombian citizens. Although Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the conditions under which the deportations take place, the country has been receiving such flights for years. Ultimately, it was a political battle in which both Petro and President Donald Trump sought to assert their strength against each other, but the deportation mechanisms remain the same as before.
[link removed]


** Our Colombia Profile
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]


** How Trump’s Team Could Impact Anti-Crime Efforts in LatAm
------------------------------------------------------------

Explore our Colombia coverage > ([link removed])

Explore our security policy coverage > ([link removed])

Support our work

We go into the field to interview, report and investigate. We then verify, write and edit, providing the tools to generate real impact in fighting organized crime.

Donate today ([link removed])

[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

InSight Crime is sponsored by:
American University ([link removed])
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency ([link removed])

Copyright (C) 2025 InSight Crime. All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you have signed up to receive InSight Crime's top weekly content.
You are receiving this email because you have signed up to receive InSight Crime's top weekly content.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can
update your preferences ([link removed]) or unsubscribe ([link removed])