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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. 

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Upcoming Investigation

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 >

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