August 29, 2025 | View in your browser ([link removed])
This week, InSight Crime shed light ([link removed]) on gangs from the state of Zulia, Venezuela, that have expanded their operations across Latin America. While Tren de Aragua has dominated headlines, it is not the only Venezuelan gang with tentacles across the region.
Also this week, the creation of a ride-hailing app by Brazil’s Red Command gang shows ([link removed]) how the country’s gangs are combining territorial control and technological sophistication to generate new revenue streams; the guilty plea of Sinaloa Cartel co-founder “El Mayo” Zambada to multiple drug trafficking charges in US federal court could reveal ([link removed]) new connections with organized crime and Mexico’s highest levels of power; and a report from the Prison Observatory indicates ([link removed]) that the system of criminal leadership in Venezuelan prisons, better known as “pranato,” has persisted despite government operations against it.
This and more below.
** Don’t Miss It
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
** 📅 Upcoming Event | How War-on-Terror Tactics Could Change the Fight Against Organized Crime
------------------------------------------------------------
**
------------------------------------------------------------
Drone strikes on crime groups? Mass deportations? Blocking financial flows? These are some of the possibilities we’ll explore on September 26 in our donor-exclusive event. Sign up ([link removed]) today to join this conversation with our experts.
** Featured
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
** Beyond Tren de Aragua: Venezuelan Gangs Spread Across Latin America ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
While headlines and political speeches have focused predominately on Tren de Aragua, another criminal group from Venezuela has expanded its operations in Latin America, leaving a quieter but no less violent mark than the more famous Venezuelan gang.
Tren de Aragua is infamous for its rapid expansion throughout Latin America. But a wave of criminals originally from the northwestern Venezuelan state of Zulia who have been arrested or killed in countries like Colombia, Argentina, and Chile reveals another branch of Venezuelan organized crime’s transnational reach.
Read the article here > ([link removed])
See more Venezuela coverage > ([link removed])
** News Analysis
------------------------------------------------------------
** All News > ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
** The New Face of Venezuela’s ‘Pranato’ System ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
The system of criminal leadership born in Venezuelan prisons, better known as “pranato,” refuses to die despite the government operations that have hit it hard .…
Brazil’s Red Command Turned Turf Control Into Ride-Hailing Monopoly ([link removed])
On the Radar: ‘El Mayo’ To Plead Guilty ([link removed])
** Impact
------------------------------------------------------------
** What We Do > ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
InSight Crime investigator and project manager Victoria Dittmar provided expert analysis on the Spanish TV show laSexta about the ongoing factional war in Sinaloa, highlighting how the conflict between the Chapitos and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada’s son has sparked a “narcopandemia,” driving spikes in violence, forced disappearances, and the closure of businesses and schools in the state capital, Culiacán.
Read our Sinaloa Cartel coverage > ([link removed])
** This Week's Criminal Profile: Cartel of the Suns
------------------------------------------------------------
The Cartel of the Suns is a criminal network embedded within Venezuela’s military, spanning the army, navy, air force, and National Guard, and made up primarily of high-ranking officers involved in drug trafficking. This week, the network made headlines as the United States deployed military forces to Venezuela’s coasts to target drug trafficking operations linked to the group, a move backed by several Caribbean governments and met with a Venezuelan response that included sending some 15,000 troops to the Colombian border.
[link removed]
Read our Cartel of the Suns profile > ([link removed])
[link removed]
Read our Venezuela profile > ([link removed])
** Multimedia
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
August 22, 2025
#OntheRadar
"On the Radar is here, a new weekly video from InSight Crime that will keep you up to date with the top organized crime stories in Latin America. Watch for context, key stories, and insights to help you understand how the criminal landscape is evolving."
Watch the full video > ([link removed])
** Media Mentions
------------------------------------------------------------
** About us > ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
August 24, 2025
Miami Herald ([link removed])
"'Last year was Trinidad and Tobago’s deadliest on record as the oil-rich nation recorded 625 murders and a homicide rate of 45.7, according to Insight Crime."
Read our 2024 Homicide Round-Up > ([link removed])
** Trending: Sinaloa Cartel's 'El Mayo' Pleads Guilty to US Drug Charges
------------------------------------------------------------
Ismael Zambada García, alias "El Mayo," pleaded guilty in a US court to drug trafficking charges. While the former Sinaloa Cartel leader avoided the death penalty, he will spend the rest of his life in jail. However, his lawyer denied that the former crime boss is cooperating with US prosecutors. Read more about El Mayo's infamous criminal career here.
[link removed]
** Sinaloa Cartel Leaders Arrested in Symbolic, but Hollow Victory for US ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
** Truth or Lie? A Letter From El Mayo Fuels Mexico-US Tensions Over Sinaloa Cartel Arrests ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Read our ‘El Mayo’ profile > ([link removed])
** Support our work ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
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])
