Weekly InSight
In a three-part investigative series, MS13 & Co., InSight Crime charts the increasingly transnational nature of Central America’s most powerful street gang and looks at how, thanks to this increasing sophistication, it asserts control over local economies and cements its dominance over entire communities. 

Elsewhere, InSight Crime looked at Mexican cartels profiting from migrants heading for the US border, at drones dropping bombs from the sky, at the dismantling of a Brazilian criminal legend’s legacy and at night-time prowlers in the port of Rotterdam.

Featured

How the MS13 Became Lords of the Trash Dump in Honduras

Where Honduras ends, there are no borders, no guards, no gate post. This is where a nation vanishes with no fanfare.

For decades, this has been the dumping ground for the industrial refuse of the Honduran coast. Plastic, tin cans, leftover food are left here to rot. And so are the leftover humans, the orphans, the sick, the widowed, the disabled, those who want to hide and think that, among the trash, they can escape their past. And even death.

Read the analysis >

NewsAnalysis

With US Policy, Mexico Crime Groups See Double the Opportunity in Northbound Migrants


Reported kidnappings have decreased significantly in Mexico, but in recent years... 

At Nightfall, Cocaine Extractors Move Through Port of Rotterdam


With shipping ports around the world seizing more cocaine than ever, traffickers have come up with an innovative method to access...
Colombia's ‘King’ of Drug Subs Goes Down But Vessels Proliferate
Brazil Police Target Legacy of Infamous Drug Trafficker, Fernandinho Beira-Mar
Tepalcatepec, Mexico: A Staging Ground for Drone Warfare 
Anti-Corruption Judge Becomes Next Target of Guatemala Prosecutors

Criminal Actors

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

Browse by country >

MS13

The Mara Salvatrucha, or MS13, is perhaps the most notorious street gang in the Western Hemisphere. While it has its...

10th Front -
Ex-FARC Mafia

The 10th Front, also known as the Martín Villa Front, is one of the most active elements...

Media Mentions

JANUARY 17, 2022
WASHINGTON TIMES


"Thousands of firearms manufactured or bought in the U.S. end up being used in crimes in Central America… U.S. weapons are also fueling gang violence in Haiti, according to a November report by InSight Crime."

Impact

InSight Crime/American University Tackle How Criminal Networks Operate Across Latin America

 
InSight Crime, in partnership with American University's Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS) in Washington, has completed a ground breaking study on the evolution of transnational organized crime in the Americas, looking at the nature of today’s criminal networks and the keys to their success and longevity. 

Across Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Central America, the Caribbean and the Southern Cone, our team of investigators broke down the unique social, economic and cultural dynamics that impact how criminal groups operate, whether reliant on support from state actors, whether drawn from shared heritage or a sense of community, or whether simply knit by a quest for profit. Through this methodology and after interviews with over 200 prosecutors, judges, officials and security experts, the report lays out a series of recommendations for policymakers at the local, national and international level.

Download the full report in English here

Our Trending Topics 

MS13
US/MEXICO BORDER
RED COMMAND
EUROPE AND CRIME
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.
SUPPORT OUR WORK
DONATE TODAY
Facebook InSight Crime
Twitter InSight Crime
LinkedIn InSight Crime
 


InSight Crime is sponsored by:

American University
Open Society Foundations
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Copyright © 2021 InSight Crime, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you have signed up to receive InSight Crime's top weekly content.
unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences 






This email was sent to [email protected]
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
InSight Crime · Medellin · Medellin 0000 · Colombia