Weekly InSight | Blow to Rule of Law in El Salvador

This week, InSight Crime helps shape the debate on El Salvador’s ousting of its attorney general and five high court judges – a move that has placed the rule of law in the balance. Other highlights include an examination of why military troops so often fail in combatting environmental crime in the Amazon; a look at how towns in Mexico have shot up the ranks of the world’s most violent places; and a report on how corruption allegations against a Cali prosecutor have led to calls for reviews of two major murder cases that shook the city.

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

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"They captured many, many, many of these drug trafficking operational heads and midlevel guys, cooperating with special units in the police, special units in the marines and parts of the [Mexican] attorney general's office, said Steven Dudley, an expert on drug interdiction with a think tank called InSight Crime."

InSight Crime’s newest class of a dozen interns is a distinguished group, hailing from Georgetown University, Loyola University, The University of Texas at Austin, The London School of Economics, George Washington University, the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University and other prestigious institutions in Europe and the Americas.

We take pride in our interns, who play a critical role in our work, from researching criminal organizations to writing for our website. Many have become key staffers, while others have gone on to be our ambassadors in NGOs, government agencies and international organizations.

We also take pride in seeing our investigative journalism and in-depth research used to inform key decisionmakers and stakeholders. The William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies at the National Defense University in Washington recently held its annual course on combating transnational organized crime, where instructors highlighted InSight Crime’s materials in the week-long seminar attended by high-ranking government and security officials. Featured reports included the rise of dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) in Colombia, the role of women in organized crime in Latin America and the new cocaine pipeline to Europe.

Featured

Ousting of El Salvador’s Top Prosecutor Imperils Rule of Law

NewsAnalysis

Why South America’s Armies Are Losing the War for the Amazon

Colombia’s City of Cali Dealing with Fallout of Prosecutor’s Arrest

Criminal Actors

El Mayo

Sinaloa Cartel

Media Mentions

Impact

Head of the Class

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