August 22, 2025 | View in your browser ([link removed])
This week, InSight Crime’s new investigation ([link removed]) , based on three years of on-the-ground reporting across multiple countries, sheds new light on the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua — how it has evolved, how it operates today, and how it may change in the future.
Also this week, Bolivia’s election results could reshape ([link removed]) how the Andean nation addresses cocaine production, organized crime, and protection of the Amazon; the erosion of procedural guarantees in El Salvador opens the door ([link removed]) to the persecution of Salvadorans beyond the country’s borders; and Ecuador’s announcement that it will withdraw military forces from prisons marks the beginning of the end ([link removed]) of a policy that has been an inflection point in the country’s criminal history.
This and more below.
** Latest Investigation
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** Tren de Aragua: Fact vs. Fiction ([link removed])
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Tren de Aragua has quickly become one of the most infamous crime groups in Latin America and the Caribbean. Governments across the region have deemed it a top security priority. The United States has labeled the group a terrorist organization and accused it of mounting an invasion.
But Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claims his government has wiped out Tren de Aragua at home. So what is the truth about the gang? Is it an ascendant criminal powerhouse, or just a highly successful criminal brand?
Chapters
1. What Is Tren de Aragua? ([link removed])
2. The Tocorón Takeover ([link removed])
3. Bolívar: A New Sanctuary for Tren de Aragua? ([link removed])
4. Tren de Aragua Clashes with Colombia’s Underworld ([link removed])
5. How Tren de Aragua Became Peru’s ‘Public Enemy Number One’ ([link removed])
6. Safe Chile Meets Extreme Gang Violence ([link removed])
7. Tren de Aragua and the American Dream ([link removed])
8. Separating Fact From Fiction With Tren de Aragua ([link removed])
9. The Future of Tren de Aragua ([link removed])
** News Analysis
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** All News > ([link removed])
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** Abused and Pursued: How El Salvador’s State of Emergency Went International ([link removed])
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On the night of March 24, 2025, Colombian authorities intercepted Mateo Sebastián Pintor Rodríguez, a Salvadoran man who was about .…
The Military Is Going to Leave Ecuador’s Prisons. What Comes Next? ([link removed])
Bolivia’s Election Could Reshape Coca Policy ([link removed])
** Impact
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** What We Do > ([link removed])
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Upon the release of our latest investigation, the findings gained widespread media attention, with coverage in prominent outlets across the region in both English and Spanish. The launch event also drew our largest live audience ever.
Watch the full Open Virtual Panel here > ([link removed])
** This Week's Criminal Profile: Sinaloa Cartel
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The Sinaloa Cartel, considered the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere, is a network of some of Mexico’s most important drug bosses. This week, the organization made headlines as its co-founder, Ismael Zambada García, alias “El Mayo,” is expected to plead guilty to multiple drug trafficking charges in US federal court on August 25, likely as part of a deal exchanging cooperation with authorities for sentencing leniency. Prosecutors have dropped the pursuit of the death penalty, and his plea agreement may include testimony against members of his organization as well as political or business elites linked to organized crime.
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Read our Sinaloa Cartel profile > ([link removed])
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Read our “El Mayo” profile > ([link removed])
** Multimedia
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August 18, 2025
#Honduras #Environment
"The Celaque Mountain National Park in western Honduras has been a protected area for more than 30 years. But when a new mayor was elected in one of the municipalities located inside the reserve, environmental destruction rose."
Watch the full video > ([link removed])
** Media Mentions
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** About us > ([link removed])
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August 19, 2025
Financial Times ([link removed])
"'We think 2024 was the most lucrative year ever for organised crime in Latin America', says Jeremy McDermott, co-founder of Insight Crime, which tracks illicit activity in the region. 'This was driven principally by three criminal economies. The first is cocaine. Lagging not far behind that is gold . . . number three is human smuggling and human trafficking'."
Read our Annual Cocaine Round-Up > ([link removed])
** Trending: Most Cocaine Now Enters Guyana From Venezuela, Says Top Drug Official
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Guyana’s anti-narcotics chief, James Singh, says most of the cocaine entering the country now comes from Venezuela, turning Guyana into a key transshipment hub for routes to Europe and West Africa. The shift reflects traffickers steering away from the increasingly risky Caribbean corridor to North America.
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** Is Venezuela Using Criminals to Provoke Guyana? ([link removed])
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** No Man’s Land: How Drug Trafficking Took Root in the Disputed Essequibo Territory ([link removed])
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Read our Guyana coverage > ([link removed])
** Support our work ([link removed])
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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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