Dear Reader,
The January 3 arrest of Nicolás Maduro by the United States on Venezuelan soil made headlines worldwide and reignited debates over geopolitics, international law, and possible regime-change scenarios. Yet the potential implications for organized crime and drug trafficking — the very arguments President Donald Trump cited to justify increased military action in the region — have largely been sidelined.
At InSight Crime, we have spent more than 15 years investigating the evolution of organized crime in Venezuela, as well as the Maduro government’s role in shielding criminal groups and illicit economies. We are closely monitoring developments and will continue to analyze the possible repercussions of this historic event, both for Venezuela’s underworld and for criminal dynamics across the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean.
