This week, InSight Crime focuses on gangs across the region, including attacks on polling places by Venezuela's pro-government colectivos...

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

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This week, InSight Crime focuses on gangs across the region, including attacks on polling places by Venezuela's pro-government colectivos during last weekend's national elections. We also report on a $1 million lottery prize that turned into a nightmare for a kindergarten in Mexico after a gang began to threaten and extort parents, while a gang feud in a Costa Rican village has left a trail of bloodshed. Other notable reports include Ecuador's people-smuggling rings seeing a boon from a surge in US-bound migrants; a vast cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme in Brazil with links to drug money; and extortionists in Argentina borrowing the surname of an imprisoned gang boss.


** Featured
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** In Contested Zulia and Táchira, Violence Mars Venezuelan Elections ([link removed])
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Under the view of international observers, elections in Venezuela this weekend showed low levels of interference by armed groups or organized crime. Yet, isolated outbursts of violence by pro-government gangs remained in areas where a convergence of political power and criminal economies was under threat.

Electoral violence was localized, with the northwestern state of Zulia bearing the brunt. In the most shocking attack, armed men described by witnesses as colectivos, a term for pro-regime armed groups, arrived at a voting center in the region’s San Francisco municipality and opened fire, killing a 38-year-old man and injuring two others.

Read the Analysis > ([link removed])


** Upcoming Investigation
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** When Corruption Kills: The Case of IGSS-Pisa in Guatemala
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On December 1, InSight Crime launches an investigation into a contentious deal between a major pharmaceutical firm and the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (or IGSS, as it is known by its Spanish acronym). Following the deal, which prosecutors said the IGSS green-lit despite the firm’s lack of experience and infrastructure, dozens of patients died and scores of others were infected. The case would eventually reach the country’s highest courts where the elites implicated in the IGSS case had bought what some said was an insurance policy to make sure they would never be prosecuted.

See our in-depth coverage of elites and organized crime > ([link removed])


** NewsAnalysis
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All News ([link removed]) >
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** Mexico Criminals Target Kindergarten After Huge Lottery Earnings ([link removed])
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Winning a lottery prize of close to $1 million should have been a positive, life-changing event for a kindergarten and its community...

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** Costa Rica's Devil - Bloody Drug Feud Catches Authorities Off Guard ([link removed])
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An unusually drawn-out feud between two rival gangs in northern Costa Rica has left over 150 people...

Extortionists Copycat Argentina's Monos Gang ([link removed])
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Murder, Drugs, God and Crypto - The Downfall of Brazil's Pharaoh of Bitcoins ([link removed])
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Songs of Praise: Gangsters Across Latin America Turn to Narco-Corridos ([link removed])
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Ecuador Smuggling Rings See Windfall in Migrants ([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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** Ex-FARC Mafia ([link removed])
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The ex-FARC Mafia are a series of criminal structures that emerged during the peace negotiations between the...
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** 'El Mencho' ([link removed])
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Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho," is the leader and founder of the Jalisco Cartel – New Generation (CJNG)...


** Media Mentions
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About Us ([link removed])
NOVEMBER 24, 2021
MONGABAY ([link removed])

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"InSight Crime found that the illegal trade in land titles in Latin America is facilitated through connections with government officials who can give illicit deals a necessary veneer of legitimacy."
Read the cited article > ([link removed])


** Impact
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What We do ([link removed])


** Gender and Investigative Techniques Focus of Workshops
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On November 23-24, InSight Crime conducted a workshop called “How to Cover Organized Crime: Investigation Techniques and A Focus on Gender.” The session convened reporters and investigators from a dozen organizations in Colombia and Venezuela. During the first session, members of InSight Crime team spoke about our methodology, the way we illustrate our research and how we amplify impact.

The second day was led by members of the Colombian non-governmental organization Sentiido ([link removed]) , who provided tools on how to report with a focus on gender. The participants reflected on the importance of understanding, recognizing and making visible gender as a system of power that generates inequalities among men, women and non-binary people. These differences, investigators learned, should be considered in all steps of their work. The workshops were sponsored by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA ([link removed]) ).

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** Our Trending Topics
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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.
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