** Weekly InSight
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Month Day, 2023

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This week, InSight Crime analyzed how the gang truce in El Salvador not only failed to reduce long-term violence, but also strengthened ([link removed]) criminal structures. Although the government claimed the truce would lower homicide rates, gangs soon realized they could use violence levels as a bargaining tool to gain concessions. After the agreement collapsed, criminal groups resorted to this strategy, escalating conflicts and leaving behind a legacy of violence and corruption that continues to affect the country.

Additionally, we explored how a gender perspective can help reduce ([link removed]) male gun violence within gangs in Latin America and the Caribbean. We analyze whether Ecuador’s government will be able to contain violence following one of the worst massacres ([link removed]) perpetrated by criminal groups in the country’s history. We also examine how the rapid proliferation of synthetic drugs is transforming ([link removed]) illicit markets globally, and how the AGC could benefit ([link removed]) from the new dynamics of migrant smuggling in northern Colombia due to US crackdowns on immigration.


** Featured
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** Did El Salvador’s Gang Truce Lead to More Violence? ([link removed])
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In the latest of a series of academic articles, two scholars add to mounting evidence that gang truces may provide a short-term reprieve from violence, but over time can add to the total death toll.

The scholars – Cree Jones and Preston Lloyd, writing in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies – tackle the case of the gang truce in El Salvador. To facilitate the empirical analysis, they break the truce into three time periods: the truce itself (March 2012-April 2013); a “piecemeal revocation” period during which the government began to roll back the truce (May 2013-January 2015); and a post-truce period (February 2015-December 2016).

Read the article > ([link removed])

See more of our coverage on El Salvador > ([link removed])


** New Episode: The Shadow of El Dorado
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** Episode 5: Venom
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Listen to Episode 05: "Venom"> ([link removed])

All episodes are available in English on our website, ([link removed]) Amazon Music ([link removed]) , ([link removed]) [link removed] Podcast ([link removed]) , ([link removed]) Spotify ([link removed]) and ([link removed]) YouTube ([link removed]) . ([link removed])

This week, we released the fifth episode, "Venom," of our first investigative podcast series: The Shadow of El Dorado: Unearthing Colombia’s Blood Gold.

In this episode, we examine how Segovia goes into lockdown as a new gold war begins, coinciding with a new chapter in Colombia’s armed conflict. But is this truly an existential battle between legal and illegal forces, or just war propaganda? As we delve into this story, we reveal how not only gangsters and criminal groups but also politicians and business elites have tainted the gold supply — ultimately reaching us, the global consumers — with death, corruption, and devastation.


** NewsAnalysis
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All News > ([link removed])
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** How a Gender Perspective Can Help Reduce Male Armed Violence ([link removed])
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As gangs continue to drive violence across Latin America and the Caribbean, new research…
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** Guayaquil Massacre a Harsh Reminder of Ecuador’s Security Reality ([link removed])
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Warring factions of the Tiguerones criminal group carried out one of Ecuador’s worst-ever massacres…
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** 3 Key Findings on Synthetic Drugs in Latin America and the Caribbean From the INCB ([link removed])
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The rapid proliferation of synthetic drugs is reshaping illicit markets worldwide…
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** Slowing Migrant Flows in Colombia Dry Up Smuggling Profits ([link removed])
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Migrant smuggling dynamics in northern Colombia are shifting in response to a US immigration crackdown…


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

This week, InSight Crime’s co-director, Steven Dudley, attended the 68th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Austria. This key forum discusses drug and security policies at a global level. His participation allowed for monitoring relevant discussions and engaging with experts in the field. Our participation reinforces our commitment to analyzing and understanding crime dynamics in international forums.

Read our coverage on our GameChangers series> ([link removed])


** This Week's Criminal Profile: The Tiguerones
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In just a few years, the Tiguerones have become one of Ecuador’s most dangerous and influential criminal groups, playing a key role in transnational cocaine trafficking.

The group — led by a former prison guard — originated in Guayaquil as a faction of the prison gang the Choneros. After splitting from the Choneros, the Tiguerones built a fearsome reputation as one of the most violent criminal groups in the country.

This week, various factions of the Tiguerones carried out one of the worst massacres in Ecuador’s history in Guayaquil, demonstrating the group’s destabilizing role in the nation’s security landscape.
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Read our profile on the Tiguerones > ([link removed])
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See our coverage on Ecuador > ([link removed])


** Media Mentions
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About us > ([link removed])

March 6, 2025

Americas Quarterly Podcast ([link removed])
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"In this episode, we look at how organized crime is shifting in Latin America in 2025. Our guest, Jeremy McDermott, co-founder of InSight Crime"

Read our GameChangers series> ([link removed])


** Trending Topic: Ecuador Gang Clashes Trigger Surge in Violence
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A wave of violence swept across Ecuador over the weekend, with deadly clashes between rival factions of the Tiguerones leaving 22 people dead. Meanwhile, a convicted member of the Tiguerones — linked to the armed assault on a TV station in January 2024 — was found dead alongside four other inmates in Guayaquil’s Litoral Prison, as authorities investigate whether there was foul play. In response, the government launched a series of raids in Guayaquil.

See our coverage on Ecuador > ([link removed])

See our coverage on Los Tiguerones > ([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.

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

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