August 8, 2025
View in your browser ([link removed])
This week, InSight Crime delved into ([link removed]) criminal dynamics in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, where ongoing battles over local drug markets, particularly the methamphetamine trade, reflect a changing criminal economy that has seen the old criminal guard replaced.
Also this week, new US sanctions against Venezuela’s Cartel of the Suns misrepresent ([link removed]) it as a hierarchical, ideologically driven drug trafficking organization instead of a profit-based system of generalized corruption within the military; a recent report found ([link removed]) that combating arms trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean requires neither long periods of time nor significant resources; government responses to the recruitment of children into criminal organizations via social media platforms and online video games continue to fall short ([link removed]) ; and the case of a Latin American immigrant the US judged to be a gang member for little more than a tattoo highlights ([link removed]) how the links
between organized crime and immigration began tipping the balance between due process and security long ago.
This and more below.
** Featured
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
** In Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Old Criminal Groups Form New Criminal Guard ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
The first body was found in the morning. The man had been shot and killed. His hands and feet had been tied. By the evening, at least eight more were dead. By the next afternoon, as many as 12 more bodies had been recovered, and by the end of the day, the toll had reached 22.
The wave of murders over a two-day period in Ciudad Juárez between July 9 and 10 was dubbed “Red Thursday,” and for the authorities InSight Crime asked about the violence, there was a simple answer: The criminal groups were fighting over local drug markets, specifically the methamphetamine trade.
Read the article here > ([link removed])
See more US-Mexico border coverage > ([link removed])
** News Analysis
------------------------------------------------------------
All News > ([link removed])
[link removed]
** Gangs, Tattoos, and the Roots of the US Due Process Crisis ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Daisy Rodriguez has seen her husband, Santos, just once in the last two years. She flew down to his homeland, Guatemala, where they…
Is Latin America Prepared to Mitigate Digital Recruitment by Crime Groups? ([link removed])
OAS Report Flags Short-Term Strategies to Limit LatAm Arms Trafficking ([link removed])
US Sanctions Mischaracterize Venezuela’s Cartel of the Suns ([link removed])
** Impact
------------------------------------------------------------
What We Do > ([link removed])
[link removed]
InSight Crime investigator and project manager Victoria Dittmar provided expert analysis to the Texas Observer for an article that examined how US-Mexico border strategies often fall short in tackling the synthetic drug trade. Drawing on InSight Crime’s research, the article underscores how current efforts overlook the decentralized nature of fentanyl trafficking networks — structures that defy traditional notions of rigid cartel hierarchies.
Read our Precursor Chemicals Investigation > ([link removed])
** This Week's Criminal Profile: Second Marquetalia
------------------------------------------------------------
The Second Marquetalia emerged after the peace accords signed between the Colombian government and the now demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC). A handful of its members, led by one of the FARC’s most influential commanders, Luciano Marín, alias “Iván Márquez,” returned to arms after an unsuccessful attempt to reintegrate into civilian life through the peace process. Since its formation, the group’s leaders have taken refuge in the mountains along the Colombia–Venezuela border with the tacit approval of the Venezuelan government, according to InSight Crime’s investigations.
This week, the group made headlines after the alleged death of one of its leaders, José Sierra Sabogal, alias “Zarco Aldinever,” along with other members of the group in an attack attributed to the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN).
[link removed]
Read our Second Marquetalia profile > ([link removed])
[link removed]
Read more Colombia coverage > ([link removed])
** Multimedia
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
August 1, 2025
#ErikPrince #SecurityPolicy
"Erik Prince’s footprint is growing in Latin America as governments turn to foreign private military contractors to confront organized crime. His efforts in Ecuador, Haiti, Peru, and El Salvador reflect a growing trend toward outsourcing public security."
Watch full video > ([link removed])
** Media Mentions
------------------------------------------------------------
About us > ([link removed])
August 4, 2025
The Latin Times ([link removed])
[link removed]
"According to the investigative organization InSight Crime, the group [Cartel of the Suns] operates across various branches of the Venezuelan military and is often shielded by, coordinated with, or even directed by political figures."
Read our Cartel of the Suns profile > ([link removed])
** Trending: US Won't Seek Death Penalty for Three of Mexico's Top Former Crime Bosses
------------------------------------------------------------
US prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty against three of Mexico’s most notorious criminal leaders currently jailed in the United States: former Guadalajara Cartel leader Rafael Caro Quintero; Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael Zambada García, alias “El Mayo,”; and the one-time Juárez Cartel boss Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, alias “El Viceroy.”
[link removed]
** The Many Lives of Caro Quintero’s Criminal Career ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
** In Historic Move, Mexico Transfers 29 Top Narcos to the United States ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Read our ‘El Mayo’ profile > ([link removed])
Read our ‘El Viceroy’ profile > ([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])
