Weekly InSight
This week, InSight Crime looks at why politics in Mexico is a risky business. We focus on organized crime dynamics in Veracruz, the most dangerous state for aspiring politicians, where 16 candidates have been killed in the runup to Sunday’s elections. 

In other news from the region, the race to build wind turbines may be fueling illegal logging of balsa wood in Ecuador. Bolivia’s former interior minister faces US bribery charges for allegedly taking kickbacks in a deal to buy tear gas. Italian Mafia boss Rocco Morabito is arrested in Brazil – a popular narco refuge – after two years on the run. Latin America’s conservationists warn tourists that the cute sloth they’re being offered for a photo has likely been trafficked. And Colombia’s announcement of the demise of the Caparros crime group may be premature. 

Featured

Why is Veracruz Mexico's Most Dangerous State for Political Murders?

Running for office in Mexico means risking one's life. Days away from local elections on June 6, at least 89 political candidates had been killed during the current campaign.

The 2021 election cycle has been the most dangerous in recent years, with 782 acts of violence against incumbents and challengers alike, edging out the 774 violent acts recorded in 2018, according to a regularly updated report on political violence in Mexico by risk analysis group, Etellekt.

Read the analysis >

NewsAnalysis

Timber Mafias at Ecuador’s Borders Cash in on Balsa Boom


Timber mafias operating along Ecuador’s borders with Peru and Colombia have been profiting from the thriving demand for... 

Colombia Should Hold Off on Wake for Caparros


The Colombian government has, rather optimistically, announced the demise of one of the country's more aggressive criminal groups, in a region that has seen the constant recycling of criminal actors since..
Displacements in Mexico Increase With Ongoing Violence
Barbados at Crossroads with Rising Homicide Rate
Demobilized But Not Disarmed, Colombia Paramilitaries Continue Extorting
Church Leaders in Mexico Struggle to Stem Michoacán Bloodshed
Why Did Bolivia's Former Interior Minister Get Arrested in the US?
No Sloth Selfies - The Rush to Protect Latin America's Slowest Mammal
How International Narcos Rebuild Their Lives in Brazil

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

Browse by country >

CJNG

The Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación - CJNG) is a criminal group that has evolved as a...

Caparros

The Caparros, also known as the Virgilio Peralta Arenas Front and the Caparrapos, is a criminal gang that is heavily involved in...

Media Mentions
JUNE 2, 2021
REUTERS
"Jamaica has a long history of political violence and gang warfare, and last year had the highest homicide rate in the Latin American and Caribbean region, according to InSight Crime, a non-profit think-tank."
 

Impact

Collaborating on Citizen Security Initiatives

 
InSight Crime continuously teams up with stakeholders involved in citizen security in the Americas. For our latest collaboration, Co-director Steven Dudley worked with Chemonics, a DC-based development firm active in more than 70 countries, to analyze the organization’s citizen security programs in Mexico. 

One upshot of this effort was a post on Chemonics’ website by Dudley and Luke Waggoner, a senior democracy and governance specialist, titled “For Holistic Violence Prevention, Consider the Local Systems Framework.” The report highlighted a youth violence prevention program whose team mapped actors and political dynamics under a framework developed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). 

Dudley and Waggoner warned development practitioners that without a deep understanding of these systems and relationships, they risk implementing ineffective programs. 
 

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InSight Crime · Medellin · Medellin 0000 · Colombia