June 6, 2025

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This week, InSight Crime reports from the ground ([link removed]) on the intersection of growing criminality and potential geopolitical conflict in Essequibo, the dense Amazon jungle region in Guyana claimed by Venezuela.

Also this week, Mexico's judicial elections raise ([link removed]) questions about how this new process may impact a justice system already struggling to combat organized crime; the discovery of a clandestine ammunition factory in Argentina exposes ([link removed]) how the lack of traceability for firearms and ammunition remains a key vulnerability exploited by criminal groups; Ecuador’s military operations against illegal mining have done little ([link removed]) to slow one of the country’s most lucrative criminal economies; and increased attacks and extortion of internet service providers by Brazilian gangs suggest ([link removed]) organized crime groups are pushing legitimate providers out to expand illegal internet services.

This and more below.


** Latest Investigation
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** Is Venezuela Using Criminals to Provoke Guyana? ([link removed])
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A border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana is turning violent after attacks on Guyanese security forces. Could the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro be using criminal gangs to provoke an international crisis?

Essequibo, the dense Amazon jungle region in Guyana claimed by Venezuela, has become fertile ground for organized crime, further complicating a potentially explosive diplomatic situation.

Chapters
1. A Golden Opportunity: Maduro and Venezuelan Miners Target Essequibo ([link removed])
2. No Man’s Land: How Drug Trafficking Took Root in the Disputed Essequibo Territory ([link removed])
3. False Promises: How Essequibo’s Mineral Wealth Spurs Human Trafficking ([link removed])



** News Analysis
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** Ecuador’s Illegal Mining Crackdowns Miss the Mark ([link removed])
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Massive operations by Ecuador’s military against illegal mining following a historic massacre will do little to slow one of the country’s most lucrative criminal economies …

Brazil’s Gangs Expand Their Control Over Internet Services ([link removed])

Will Judicial Elections in Mexico Make a Bad Situation Worse? ([link removed])

Major Seizure of Homemade Bullets Highlights Arms Control Failures in Argentina ([link removed])


** Impact
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Following InSight Crime's latest investigation, “Is Venezuela Using Criminals to Provoke Guyana?” Guyanese foremost media outlet, Stabroek News, highlighted the report on Essequibo, a densely forested region in Guyana claimed by Venezuela. The investigation revealed how the area has become a hub for organized crime, complicating an already tense diplomatic situation amid concerns that the Venezuelan government is slipstreaming behind its criminal partners right into the region.

Read our latest investigation > ([link removed])


** This Week's Criminal Profile: Choneros
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The Choneros are among Ecuador’s most prominent criminal groups, playing a central role in the country’s recent violence. Originating in the 1990s as a local gang in Manabí, the Choneros have weathered numerous setbacks over the years. In 2011, gang leaders Jorge Luis Zambrano, alias “Rasquiña,” and Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito,” were arrested. Rasquiña was murdered in 2020, and Fito escaped from prison in 2024, prompting military interventions in the country’s prisons.

This week, Ecuadorian authorities arrested six individuals close to Fito as part of a money laundering investigation. While the Choneros have historically survived such challenges, their future will depend on adapting to the rapidly evolving criminal landscape.
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Read our Choneros profile > ([link removed])
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Read our Ecuador coverage > ([link removed])


** Multimedia
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June 5, 2025

"In Latin America, drug trafficking, illegal mining, timber and land trafficking have expanded at the expense of the environment. InSight Crime has documented the impacts of these drivers of deforestation and biodiversity loss, from the pristine jungles of Mesoamerica, to deep in the Amazon."

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** Media Mentions
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June 4, 2025

The Texas Tribune ([link removed])
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"‘I don’t necessarily know why they have chosen to use tattoos as a way to identify alleged Tren de Aragua members,’ said Mike LaSusa, InSight Crime’s Deputy Director of Content."

Read our Tren de Aragua coverage > ([link removed])


** Trending: Ecuador Money Laundering Probe Targets Family of Choneros Leader ‘Fito’
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In a coordinated operation across several provinces, authorities in Ecuador arrested six people close to Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito,” the leader of the Choneros crime group. The June 2 arrests came as part of a money laundering probe targeting several front companies allegedly used to launder money for the fugitive criminal leader.
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** The US Just Unsealed Drugs and Weapons Charges Against Ecuadorian Gang Boss ‘Fito’ ([link removed])
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** The Rise and Fall of the Choneros, Ecuador’s Drug Trafficking Opportunists ([link removed])
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Read our Ecuador profile > ([link removed])

Read our Behind Bars, Beyond Control series > ([link removed])

Support our work

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InSight Crime is sponsored by:
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