This week, InSight Crime looked at a number of significant advances in the United States’ ongoing attempts to bring down transnational criminal...

Weekly InSight
June 19, 2020 ([link removed])
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This week, InSight Crime looked at a number of significant advances in the United States’ ongoing attempts to bring down transnational criminal organizations. The arrest of Álex Saab, a crucial ally of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, was the most eye-catching piece of news. But the US also issued major new rewards for Colombian drug traffickers, speculation swirled that feared Mexican cartel enforcer, “La Barbie,” may have been a DEA informant and Honduras’ Tony Hernández saw renewed links to the Sinaloa Cartel.


** Featured
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** The Fall of Álex Saab, the Venezuelan Regime’s Trusted Money Man ([link removed])
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With the arrest of Colombian businessman Álex Saab, Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro has lost a suspected international money launderer who authorities say designed schemes to provide his government with much-needed illicit cash flows in the face of US sanctions.

Saab was captured June 12 ([link removed]) at the Amílcar Cabral airport on Cabo Verde’s Sal island in West Africa, when the private jet he was traveling in landed there. Nicole Navas, a US Justice Department spokesperson, confirmed ([link removed]) Saab’s arrest. In July 2019, federal prosecutors indicted Saab on charges of running ([link removed]) a global multi-million dollar money laundering operation that diverted state funds to overseas accounts. Read the Analysis ([link removed]) >


** NewsAnalysis
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All News ([link removed]) >
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** The Legacy of How Guatemala Destroyed its Own Anti-Corruption Crusade ([link removed])
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In 2015 and 2016, anti-corruption efforts in Guatemala saw a ray of ...

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** Was Mexico Cartel Enforcer ‘La Barbie’ a US Informant? ([link removed])
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New court documents allege that a top-level criminal enforcer in Mexico served as an informant prior to his arrest, but doubts remain about ...

The Ongoing Trafficking and Killing of Venezuelan Women in Mexico ([link removed])
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US Offers Eye-Catching Rewards for Capture of Ex-FARC Mafia Leaders ([link removed])
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Gang Violence Increasingly Spreading to Women’s Prisons in Honduras ([link removed])
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Arrests Could Strengthen Links Between Tony Hernández and Sinaloa Cartel in Honduras ([link removed])
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Coronavirus Rattles Barrio 18 Structure in Guatemala ([link removed])
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4 Ways Microtraffickers are Getting Around Coronavirus Restrictions ([link removed])


** Criminal Actors
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Profiles of criminal personalities and groups that have marked this week.

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** Álex Saab ([link removed])
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Álex Nain Saab Morán is a Colombian businessman known for making shady million-dollar deals...
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** Iván Márquez ([link removed])
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Luciano Marín Arango, alias ‘Iván Márquez,’ is a former guerrilla commander who has called...
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** Media Mentions
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About Us ([link removed])
JUNE 13, 2020,
FRANCE 24 ([link removed])

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** " InSight Crime maintains that the Vice President gave a letter of recommendation for the children of ‘Memo Fantasma’ to register at one of Bogota’s most exclusive schools, while her husband and daughter worked with him on a real estate project in Bogotá."
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Read the cited article > ([link removed])


** Impact
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Timeline: The Aftermath of Memo Fantasma

InSight Crime’s investigation into “invisible” drug lord, “Memo Fantasma,” has caused a media storm in Colombia; resulted in a criminal probe into the elusive paramilitary commander turned businessman; and generated scrutiny of Colombia’s vice president, whose husband reportedly had business dealings with Memo.

View a timeline of the investigation's impact ([link removed])


** Semana In-Depth Interview
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Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by Colombian magazine Semana on how Memo’s money trail led to the discovery that he sold property to a company owned by the family of Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez. Since its publication, the vice president has come under fire for links to drug traffickers, including her own brother.

Read the interview > ([link removed])


** Tracking Memo on National Geographic
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Last week, National Geographic premiered on US television the final installment of “Drug Lords: The Next Generation.” In this episode McDermott unearths the shifting identities of Memo from paramilitary commander to drug lord and tracks him to Spain, where he lives as a wealthy businessman.

Read InSight Crime’s complete investigation into Memo Fantasma ([link removed]) > ([link removed])

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