This week, InSight Crime investigates a Paraguay congressman who provided protection to a Lamborghini-driving drug trafficker...

Weekly InSight
February 26, 2021 ([link removed])

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This week, InSight Crime investigates a Paraguay congressman who provided protection to a Lamborghini-driving drug trafficker. Part of that protection included phone calls to secure the release of a courier arrested carrying nearly $200,000 in cash. The report is the latest from our series on crime and corruption in Latin America’s infamous triple frontier regions: Central America’s Northern Triangle and South America’s Tri-Border Area.

We also go beyond the headlines in a week filled with breaking stories on organized crime, including a look at the role “Chapo” Guzmán’s wife, Emma Coronel, played in the Sinaloa Cartel; a report on how proposed sanctions by US Senators indicate that the United States is finally turning its back on Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández, amid mounting drug allegations; and how Ecuador’s jails were a powder keg ready to explode before Wednesday’s deadly riots.

Finally, we provide on-the-ground reporting from a Caracas neighborhood, where the spread of one of the country’s most violent “megabandas” has led to clashes with authorities, that left more than two dozen people dead.


** Featured
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** Drug Trafficking and Political Protection in Paraguay: The Case of ‘Cucho’ Cabaña ([link removed])
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On August 28, 2018, Diego Medina Otazú departed in a silver Fiat from Ciudad del Este. The city lies at the heart of what is known as the triple frontier where Paraguay meets both Brazil and Argentina. It is a well-known hub of contraband and criminal activity, and Medina was part of at least one criminal scheme.

Read the investigation > ([link removed])
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Join us Thursday, March 4, when InSight Crime will discuss cross-border criminal dynamics in Brazil. The event is part of our ongoing series of events on Central America’s Northern Triangle and the Southern Cone’s Tri-Border Area.

Brazil is home to some of Latin America’s largest and most sophisticated gangs, including the First Capital Command, better known by its Portuguese acronym PCC, as well as the Red Command (Comando Vermelho - CV). Both have emerged as major players in the smuggling of cocaine. In the Tri-Border Area -- where Brazil meets with Paraguay and Argentina -- loads of contraband and cannabis are also moved.

During the event, InSight Crime Co-director Steven Dudley, along with researcher Vinicius Madureira, will use our online dashboard, developed after two years of research and fieldwork, to map the underworld actors and criminal economies that thrive in this notorious region. The event will be moderated by Camila Nunes, an investigator with the Center for the Study of Violence (NEV ([link removed]) ) at the University of São Paulo. The event kicks off at 3 p.m. São Paulo time and will be broadcast in Portuguese, Spanish and English. And if you missed this week’s discussion on Paraguay, you can view it here ([link removed]) .

Sign up for the event > ([link removed])


** NewsAnalysis
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All News ([link removed]) >
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** El Coqui’s Ambition Fuels Urban Warfare in Caracas ([link removed])
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Recent shootouts between Venezuelan security forces and the El Coqui gang included a clash in which at least two dozen people were gunned down, and experts warn of continued violence as the gang...

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** Ecuador Confronts Unprecedented Levels of Prison Violence ([link removed])
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A powder keg of tensions among gangs exploded in Ecuador’s prisons in a series of bloody clashes that left at least 75 inmates dead, in what...

Emma Coronel Aided ‘El Chapo’ Escape, Sinaloa Cartel Drug Trafficking: US ([link removed])
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US Senators Seek Sanctions Against Honduras President ([link removed])
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How a US Court Ruling Impacts Gang Member Asylum Claims ([link removed])
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Hide and Seek: How Drug Traffickers Get Creative at Sea ([link removed])
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Venezuela Oil Crisis May Set Limits on PDVSA Impunity ([link removed])
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Minor Players Take Center Stage in Guatemala Drug Trade ([link removed])
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Venezuela’s Saab Story Continues With Benefit Concert ([link removed])


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

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** El Coqui ([link removed])
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Carlos Luis Revete, alias “El Coqui,” is one of Venezuela’s most wanted criminals and leader of the “megabanda”...
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** Sinaloa Cartel ([link removed])
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The Sinaloa Cartel, often described as the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the...


** Media Mentions
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About Us ([link removed])
FEBRUARY 22, 2021
JUSTICE IN MEXICO ([link removed])

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"In September 2020, InSight Crime reported that violence in western Chihuahua was largely due to fighting over timber trafficking between the Juárez Cartel, based primarily around San Juanito, and the Sinaloa Cartel, which has a greater presence in areas south of Creel. "
Read the cited report > ([link removed])


** Impact
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What We do ([link removed])
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** Exploring the Cocaine Pipeline to Europe
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With United States’ war on drugs dominating headlines, less attention has been paid to traffickers who have come to prefer Europe, where profits are higher and risks are lower. Just this week, authorities in Germany and Belgium seized 23 tons of cocaine, worth billions of dollars, in what officials are calling Europe’s largest-ever cocaine bust.

Join us on Tuesday, March 2nd, for a discussion of our recently published investigative report, “The Cocaine Pipeline to Europe ([link removed]) ,” a joint project with our long-time partner the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime ([link removed]) . InSight Crime Co-director Jeremy McDermott will discuss how Colombian and European mafias are flooding Europe with cocaine, and he will respond to questions from Laurent Laniel, a senior scientist with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). InSight Crime investigator James Bargent and Global Initiative’s Balkans field coordinator, Fatjona Mejdini, will also take part in the discussion. The Zoom conversation, which includes a Q&A with participants, takes place at 5 p.m. Central European Time (CET).
Sign up ([link removed]) for the event ([link removed]) > ([link removed])


** Drivers of Environmental Crime in Colombia
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InSight Crime has teamed up with the World Wildlife Fund ([link removed]) (WWF) to study the criminal activities driving deforestation, forest degradation and biodiversity loss in Colombia. The project -- titled “Transparent Governance of Natural Resources” and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID ([link removed]) ) -- tracked illegal mining, land grabbing, illegal logging, and wildlife trafficking in the country’s Amazon and Pacific regions. Also partnering on the report were Transparency for Colombia (Transparencia por Colombia ([link removed]) ), a branch of Transparency International, and the Foundation for Conservation and
Sustainable Development (Fundación para la Conservación y el Desarrollo Sostenible – FCDS ([link removed]) ), a conservation organization focused on Colombia’s Amazon region.

As part of the project, InSight Crime and our partner organizations will launch a series of videos exploring these four criminal activities. The video series kicks off on World Wildlife Day, March 3rd, with a look at Colombia’s illegal wildlife trade.

View our latest coverage of environmental crime > ([link removed])


** Our Trending Topics
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Browse by Country ([link removed])
EL CHAPO ([link removed])
ECUADOR ([link removed])
PARAGUAY ([link removed])
MEGABANDAS ([link removed])

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