May 30, 2025
View in your browser ([link removed])
This week, InSight Crime investigated ([link removed]) a series of suspicious drug seizures in Venezuela. Members of the security forces may be recycling previously confiscated drug shipments, hiding them on beaches in Falcón state, and later “discovering” them to project an image of effectiveness in the fight against drug trafficking.
Also this week, the mounting pressure from the US government on Mexico’s criminal groups fuels ([link removed]) inflated narratives about their reach; the DEA’s latest National Drug Threat Assessment identifies ([link removed]) synthetic drugs as its main concern; a new study pegged ([link removed]) the cost of violence in Mexico at $245 billion, 18% of the country’s economic output; and a prosecution in Honduras linked to another “narco video” exposed ([link removed]) the growing politicization of the country’s judicial system.
This and more below.
** Featured
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
** Seize, Reuse, and Repeat: Venezuela’s War on Recycled Drugs ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
A large portion of drug seizures in Falcón, Venezuela, appear to be staged by the authorities to project an image of effectiveness in the fight against drug trafficking.
Members of Venezuela’s security forces have been recycling previously seized drug shipments, hiding them on beaches in Falcón state, and later “discovering” them to showcase results, according to a number of sources consulted by InSight Crime, including military personnel and individuals linked to drug trafficking networks.
Read the article here > ([link removed])
See more Cartel of the Suns coverage > ([link removed])
** News Analysis
------------------------------------------------------------
All News > ([link removed])
[link removed]
** How Much Control Do Mexican Criminal Groups Really Have in the US? ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
The mounting pressure from the US government on Mexico’s criminal groups has fueled an inflated narrative about their reach …
Synthetic Drugs in LatAm Are DEA’s Top Concern ([link removed])
Murders May Be Dropping But the Cost of Crime Is Rising in Mexico ([link removed])
New Narco Video Scandal Spotlights Selective Justice in Honduras ([link removed])
** Impact
------------------------------------------------------------
What We Do > ([link removed])
[link removed]
As international attention turns to Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans, InSight Crime’s deputy director of content Mike LaSusa joined Al Jazeera’s podcast “The Take” to provide expert analysis on Tren de Aragua. The Venezuelan gang has recently become central to the US immigration debate, with Trump seizing on it to represent the threat of unauthorized migration ahead of the potential deportation of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans from the United States.
Read our Tren de Aragua coverage > ([link removed])
** This Week's Criminal Profile: Mayiza
------------------------------------------------------------
The Mayiza, also known as the Mayos, is a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel linked to longtime leader Ismael Zambada García, alias “El Mayo.” US authorities arrested El Mayo at an airfield in New Mexico in July 2024 along with one of the sons of Sinaloa kingpin Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo.”
In the days that followed, leaders of the Mayiza claimed that El Mayo had been kidnapped by a rival faction of the cartel run by El Chapo’s sons, known as the Chapitos. The violence unleashed by the conflict continues to ravage the state of Sinaloa, and has caused a surge in murders and disappearances, and wreaked widespread economic havoc.
[link removed]
Read our Mayiza profile > ([link removed])
[link removed]
Read our Sinaloa Cartel coverage > ([link removed])
** Multimedia
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
May 28, 2025
#Mexico #CarteldeSinaloa #Chapitos
"Does the arrest of a top security boss for the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel mean that US and Mexican authorities could get closer to Iván Archivaldo Guzmán and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar - the two of El Chapo’s sons who run the faction and remain free in Mexico?"
Watch full video > ([link removed])
** Media Mentions
------------------------------------------------------------
About us > ([link removed])
May 28, 2025
The Guardian ([link removed])
[link removed]
"Overall, according to Mexican military data obtained by InSight Crime, IED seizures have soared from almost none in 2021 to well over 1,000 every year since."
Read our article here > ([link removed])
** Trending: Alleged Albanian Trafficker Captured In Dubai
------------------------------------------------------------
Albanian Dritan Gjika, the alleged leader of a drug-trafficking network with a strong presence in Ecuador and Colombia, was arrested in Dubai via a coordinated operation between Interpol, Ecuador, and Abu Dhabi. Wanted for drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime, Gjika had two active Interpol notices in his name and is one of Ecuador’s most-wanted criminals.
[link removed]
** The Pioneering Albanian Trafficker Who Took Ecuador’s Drug Trade By Storm ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
** Albanian Drug Traffickers Jockey for Position in Ecuador ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Read our Ecuador profile > ([link removed])
Read our coverage of homicides > ([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])
