This week, the top story was the reported killings of ex-FARC commanders.
Weekly InSight
December 10, 2021 ([link removed])
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This week, the top story was the reported killings of ex-FARC commanders Darío Velásquez, alias "El Paisa," and Henry Castellanos Garzón, alias "Romaña," in Venezuela. InSight Crime looks how their deaths come as a major blow to the core of the Second Marquetalia, a dissident force formed two years ago by key former guerrilla leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC). Other big news included US sanctions on two officials in the administration of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, accusing them of corruption and having secretly negotiated with the country’s deadly street gangs. We also report on the indictment of a transnational labor trafficking network that exploited Mexican and Central American agricultural workers on a US work visa program.
Other notable reports from the week include raids in Panama revealing that Colombia’s Urabeños, also known as the Gulf Clan (Clan del Golfo), corrupted officials who assisted in the group’s cocaine trafficking operations; the head of a Mexican oil theft gang escaping in a violent prison break; and three ex-FARC commanders becoming the first people charged under Colombia’s tough new environmental crime law.
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** Laborers from Mexico, Central America Exploited Through US Work Visa Program ([link removed])
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A transnational labor trafficking network brought dozens of individuals from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico to the United States under the guise of agricultural work only to exploit them using brutal conditions, highlighting how criminal networks can manipulate legal work visa programs.
The victims had their passports and visas withheld, faced beatings, threats of violence and deportation at gunpoint, and were forced to work for little or no pay in agricultural fields in Georgia, Florida and Texas while living in crowded and unsanitary living conditions, prosecutors charged in a newly unsealed indictment filed in the Southern District of Georgia in October.
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** Top Ex-FARC Commanders, El Paisa and Romaña, Confirmed Killed in Venezuela ([link removed])
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Colombia's Defense Minister has reported that top ex-FARC commanders El Paisa and Romaña...
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** US Blacklists El Salvador Officials, Bolstering Accusations of Gang Pacts ([link removed])
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In what appears to be a shot at El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s administration, the United States...
FARC Dissidents First to be Charged Under New Colombian Environmental Law ([link removed])
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Daring Prison Break Shows Ongoing Influence of Oil Thieves in Mexico ([link removed])
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Panama Serves as Latest Gateway for Drugs to Europe ([link removed])
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Raids Reveal Urabeños' Grasp Reaches Panama ([link removed])
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Families in Rosario, Argentina, Paint Homes to Avoid Attacks ([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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** Alias 'El Paisa' ([link removed])
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Hernán Darío Velásquez, better known as "El Paisa," is a former guerrilla commander who had gone missing...
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** Alias 'Romaña' ([link removed])
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Henry Castellanos Garzón, alias “Romaña,” was the commander of the 53rd Front of the now-defunct...
** Media Mentions
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About Us ([link removed])
DECEMBER 3, 2021
THE HILL ([link removed])
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"The illegal wildlife trade is a significant industry in Colombia, which is home to about 10 percent of all known living species and is one of the world's most biodiverse countries, according to InSight Crime."
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** Guatemala Social Insecurity Investigation Makes Front Page News
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InSight Crime’s latest investigation ([link removed]) into a case of corruption within Guatemala's social security agency linked to the deaths of patients with kidney disease made waves in the Central American country and beyond. Since launching last week, portions of the three-part series have been republished by several news outlets, including Guatemala’s No-Ficción ([link removed]) and Mexico’s Milenio ([link removed]) . Meanwhile, the report’s author, InSight Crime investigator Alex Papadovassilakis, was interviewed by Con Criterio ([link removed]) , a radio program with a large audience in Guatemala. Central America watchers shared the report extensively on social media. Former US Ambassador to Guatemala and current head of the
State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Todd Robinson linked to the investigation and wrote on Twitter ([link removed]) : “Remembering how we got here.”
See the full investigation > ([link removed])
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