Weekly InSight
This week, InSight Crime looked at how longstanding criminal issues have continued to flourish in spite of government programs established to target them. Successive Mexican administrations have swept rampant child recruitment under the rug. Brazil’s Dirty List, supposed to name and shame companies engaging in modern slavery, has been hobbled by the country’s slow judicial system. And Guatemalan police officers continue to successfully moonlight as criminals, years after this practice was revealed.

Elsewhere, we delved into submarines-for-hire in Colombia and the evolution of digital piracy in Brazil.

Featured

Brazil’s Dirty List – Not Making a Dent in Modern Slavery

A government raid on an illegal gold mine in northern Brazil freed 39 people working in conditions of slavery and revealed once again the challenges that the country’s anti-slavery mechanisms must overcome.

In early November, authorities raided a gold mine in the northern state of Pará, where workers lived in conditions that meet Brazil’s definition of slavery as well as having little access to potable water, food, or protective gear.

Read the Analysis >

Third Conference

On December 3, InSight Crime held its third annual conference, “Covid and Crime: the Evolution of Organized Crime in the Americas in 2020,” in partnership with Rosario University. Academics, journalists, civil society leaders and security officials gathered (virtually) to discuss how organized crime adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic, a serious increase in environmental crimes and the growing complexity of criminality in Venezuela.

If you missed it, all the panels are available online.
Panels 1 and 2: Venezuela and Criminal Fiefdoms / Environmental Crimes and Eco-trafficking
Panel 3: Adjusting to the Virus: Criminal Mutation 

NewsAnalysis

Submarines for Rent – The Best Option for Traffickers in Colombia


In November, the Attorney General’s Office, the Colombian Navy and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)...

Mexico Lacks Will, Means to Prevent Child Recruitment: Interview


Between 35,000 and 45,000 children are currently trapped and exploited by criminal groups in Mexico...
Drug Trafficking Case Involving Police Stirs up Dark Memories in Guatemala
Mako Sharks Gutted and Tossed on a Chilean Landfill
Bolivia Dealing with Contraband Surge During Pandemic
Brazil Hits Enter on Digital Piracy Crackdown

Criminal Actors

Profiles of some of the notable criminal personalities and groups that have marked this week.

Browse by country >

‘Chepe Diablo

José Adán Salazar Umaña, alias “Chepe Diablo,” does not fit the normal profile of a criminal leader. As the former president...

ELN

The National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN) is one of the two main guerrilla armies...

Impact

In 2017, the US Congress established a special commission to study and recommend what one congressman would call a "far better path" on counter-narcotics strategy. The so-called Western Hemisphere Drug Commission drew heavily from InSight Crime's work, citing our publications 24 times over the latest 100-page report issued December 1. (For comparison’s sake, the New York Times was cited 20 times.) The report recommended a more "data driven" and "whole-of-government" approach, both of which overlap with our own philosophy towards countering narcotics trafficking and violence in the region. (Read our previous work on drug policy and coca production.)

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InSight Crime · Medellin · Medellin 0000 · Colombia