View this email in your browser ([link removed])
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
This week, InSight Crime goes into the field to investigate how Brazil’s First Capital Command (PCC) has shed its Robin Hood image in São Paulo’s favelas as it has expanded into the cocaine trade. ([link removed]) Also this week, we examine Mexico’s push to extradite US-based oil smugglers ([link removed]) and the asymmetries in the US-Mexico security relationship, as well as the top criminal takedowns of the past year, ([link removed]) detailing how powerful crime bosses managed to evade local and international authorities until their eventual downfalls. This and more below.
OnTheRadar (#OnTheRadar) | Editor’s Pick (#Editors-pick) #Editors-pick | Don’t Miss (#Dont-Miss) | In the Spotlight (#In-The-Spotlight) | Audio (#Audio)
#Editor’sPick ()
Investigations > ([link removed])
[link removed]
** As Brazil’s PCC Gentrifies, Favela Residents Must Fend for Themselves ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
From prison-born "Robin Hoods" to global cocaine kings, Brazil’s PCC is shifting from the streets to the high-finance boardrooms of São Paulo. As the group builds a multibillion-dollar empire through virtual banks and elite recruits, the favelas they once "protected" are grappling with rising violence. This is the story of organized crime going corporate, and the price the most vulnerable are paying.
Read the full story ([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 now ([link removed])
** Don’t Miss ()
------------------------------------------------------------
🔗 ([link removed]) Top Criminal Takedowns of 2025 ([link removed])
🔗 ([link removed]) Will the US Send Alleged Fuel Smugglers to Mexico? ([link removed])
[link removed]
#OnTheRadar ()
** This Week in Organized Crime
------------------------------------------------------------
◉ ([link removed]) Tensions between US President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro appear to have eased following Petro’s recent visit to Washington. ([link removed])
◉ ([link removed]) As Brazil moves toward its next elections, artificial intelligence is emerging as a powerful new tool — and potential weapon — for organized crime to influence the vote. ([link removed])
◉ ([link removed]) In Costa Rica, doubts remain over whether president-elect Laura Fernández’s promise of a hardline security strategy can curb rising crime, the issue dominating voters’ concerns. ([link removed])
Watch this Reel ([link removed])
< Criminal Profiles ([link removed])
[link removed]
** In the Spotlight ()
------------------------------------------------------------
** First Capital Command (PCC) Profile [link removed]
------------------------------------------------------------
This week, we’re zeroing in on the PCC. Our latest feature is reported from the streets of São Paulo, the gang’s birthplace, and digs into the shifting priorities of the prison-based collective — now one of Brazil’s largest and most sophisticated criminal organizations.
As the PCC expands across Latin America and into Europe — while facing its deepest internal crisis in decades — Brazil’s president is also sounding the alarm on how groups like this criminal powerhouse could leverage new tech, including AI, to manipulate politics and interfere with elections.
[link removed]
** #Audio () FEB 02, 2026
------------------------------------------------------------
** The Colectivos’ Role in the Struggle for Power in Post-Maduro Venezuela
------------------------------------------------------------
After Maduro’s arrest, what’s next for Venezuela and its criminal networks?
Listen ([link removed])
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed] Forward to a Friend ([link removed])
[link removed]
InSight Crime is sponsored by:
American University ([link removed])
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency ([link removed])
Copyright (C) 2026 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])
