Weekly InSight
For the last two years, any mention of Caracas drug lord, El Koki, saw InSight Crime’s readership soar. This has remained true this week as he was cornered and killed by security forces in Venezuela, after six months on the run. Our coverage has focused on how this young man rose from humble beginnings to become virtually untouchable as the most powerful drug dealer in the Venezuelan capital, followed by a precipitous fall from grace. 

Elsewhere, InSight Crime looked at how quickly the US has moved to isolate former Honduran president, Juan Orlando Hernández, within weeks of his leaving office and the confusion about exactly what Bolivia’s former anti-drugs czar is being charged with. 

Featured

El Koki, Venezuela's Most Notorious Gang Boss, Shot Dead

The story of El Koki, one of Venezuela's most famous criminals, has ended with his death. After constructing a criminal empire in Caracas, which collapsed in 2021, he was shot dead by security forces after months on the run.

On February 8, members of Venezuela’s criminal investigation unit (Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas – CICPC) allegedly shot dead Carlos Luis Revette, alias “El Koki” after a three-day manhunt in Tejerías, in the state of Aragua, according to a post on Venezuela's Interior and Justice Ministry's Twitter account.

Read the analysis >

NewsAnalysis

When the MS13 Played Possum in Guatemala


In this run-down neighborhood in Guatemala City, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) does not exist. And yet, there are still a host of emeeses, as the gang's members are known. 

US Reveals Former Honduras President’s Place on Central America Corruption List


Officials in the United States have revealed that former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández...
Why the ELN is Attacking One Specific Town Along Venezuela's Orinoco River
Bolivia Anti-Drug Chief Target of Both Bolivia and United States
Mexico Migrant Massacre Linked to Sophisticated Guatemala Smuggling Ring
Sicarios of the Sea - Gunmen Ride Jet Skis in Mexico
How Brazil's Gangs Took Their War to Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Liquid Cocaine - a Rising Trend Among Colombia's Traffickers
Murders Soar as Venezuela Police Hunt for Wilexis Yet Again
Jamaica Hatches New Plan to Seize Illegal Guns as Murders Soar

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

Browse by country >

El Koki

Carlos Luis Revette, alias "El Koki," was one of Venezuela’s most wanted criminals and leader of the “megabanda" that...

MS13

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

Media Mentions
FEBRUARY 8, 2021
THE ECONOMIST
"Lockdowns at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic briefly pushed homicides down in much of the region, but they quickly rebounded. Most countries in Latin America saw a rise in murders in 2021, according to data published last week by InSight Crime, a site that covers organised crime."

Impact

International Appeal for Homicide Round-Up

 
Now in its eighth year, InSight Crime’s Homicide Round-Up has become an annual reference point for policymakers and commentators around Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Providing a detailed breakdown of homicide trends in 24 countries, the Homicide Round-Up is one of our most-read pieces every year. Within one week of publication, this year’s edition was featured in The Economist as well as by domestic media in Mexico, Uruguay, Honduras and the Dominican Republic, sparking debate about the efficiency of their national policies against violent crime.
 

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InSight Crime · Medellin · Medellin 0000 · Colombia