This week, InSight Crime launches a sweeping investigation that uncovers how the demand for wood, gold and beef has created a criminal bonanza that...

Weekly InSight
June 3, 2022 ([link removed])

View in your browser ([link removed])
This week, InSight Crime launches a sweeping investigation that uncovers how the demand for wood, gold and beef has created a criminal bonanza that is driving the deforestation of Peru’s Amazon. The six-part series unravels the chain of actors prospering from the rainforest’s destruction and uncovers – step-by-step – the methods used to launder illicit forest products and usurp lands for farming and ranching.

In other news, Cali Cartel capo Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, a pioneer of Colombia’s drug trade, met a quiet end in a US prison. In Venezuela, lieutenants of notorious gang boss El Koki ratchet up violence in his former Caracas stronghold just a few months after authorities gunned him down. And in Central America, El Salvador’s gang crackdown does not produce a mass exodus of the MS13, as neighboring countries feared.


** Featured
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]


** The Roots of Environmental Crime in the Peruvian Amazon ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

Peru’s 70 million hectares of Amazon forest are being razed at an alarming rate. This investigation reveals the range of culprits behind the devastation: from illegal gold miners who leave behind pools of poisonous mercury, to poor locals coopted into harvesting valuable trees, to a complex web of front companies, agribusiness subsidiaries, corrupt officials and criminal groups that prosper from the Amazon’s destruction.

Conducted with the Igarapé Institute – a Brazil-based think tank dedicated to development, security and climate issues – the six-part series reveals the crucial links in the chain of specific environmental crimes contributing to forest loss, including illegal logging, illicit gold mining, coca cultivation, wildlife trafficking and the usurping of lands for cattle and booming agricultural industries.
Read the entire series:

1. Money Grows on Trees: Environmental Crime in Peru's Amazon ([link removed])
2. Felled and Burned: Deforestation in Peru’s Amazon ([link removed])
3. A Toxic Trade: Illegal Mining in Peru's Amazon ([link removed])
4. Poaching Grounds: Wildlife Trafficking in Peru's Amazon ([link removed])
5. Corruption at Every Level: Who Profits from Destruction of Peru's Amazon ([link removed])
6. State Resilience: Little Political Will for Protecting Peru's Amazon ([link removed])


** NewsAnalysis
------------------------------------------------------------
All News ([link removed]) >
[link removed]


** Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela: Cali Capo Meets a Quiet Death ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
The death of Cali Cartel boss Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela in a US prison marks the end of one of Colombia’s most notorious drug lords – and a...

[link removed]


** After El Koki's Death, Gangs Stir Once Again in Caracas’ Cota 905 ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Nearly four months after Venezuelan security forces killed gang boss and public enemy No. 1, El Koki, police in his former Caracas stronghold have...

Why São Paulo’s Guarulhos Airport Became Cocaine Dispatch Point to Europe and Africa ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Why Are Trinidad and Tobago's Gangs Becoming More Violent? ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Southern Colombia's Drug Dynamics in Flux With Death of Matamba ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
From Copper Theft to Ransomware - Chile's Criminal Challenges Begin to Mount ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Rio's Campaign Against Red Command Achieving Little But Increasing Body Count ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Destructive Gold Mining Plagues Suriname, French Guiana Border ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Panic Over Gang Exodus from El Salvador, But Few Arrested ([link removed])


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

Browse by country > ([link removed])
[link removed]


** Norte del Valle Cartel ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
The Norte del Valle Cartel (NDVC) emerged out of the breakup of the infamous Cali Cartel...
[link removed]


** Alias 'Iván Mordisco' ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias “Iván Mordisco,” is currently one of the most important FARC...


** Media Mentions
------------------------------------------------------------
About Us ([link removed])
MAY 28, 2022
EL ESPECTADOR ([link removed])
[link removed]
"According to organized crime research portal InSight Crime, illegal armed groups are in control of the routes, in some cases with the acquiescence of the authorities."


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


** Duarte’s Death Makes Waves
------------------------------------------------------------

The announcement of the death of Gentil Duarte, one of the top dissident commanders of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), continues to reverberate in Venezuela and Colombia. InSight Crime Co-director Jeremy McDermott spoke to ([link removed]) Venezuelan news outlet El Pitazo about the ramifications of his killing on Venezuelan soil for criminal dynamics in both countries.
"The initial theory on Duarte’s death pointed to the ELN, who have since denied any involvement. Now, the new theory is that it was another group, the Second Marquetalia. But nobody is talking about the possible role of the Colombian State; the involvement of Venezuelan authorities has been proved."

Our story on the implications of Duarte’s death ([link removed]) was picked up in both Colombian ([link removed]) and Venezuelan ([link removed]) media, while outlets worldwide made use of our long-running archive on Duarte and his criminal history. And our best-performing story of May covered the potential collapse ([link removed]) of Mexico’s most feared criminal organization, the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG).

See our profile and latest coverage of the CJNG > ([link removed])


** Our Trending Topics
------------------------------------------------------------
Browse by Country ([link removed])
EX-FARC MAFIA ([link removed])
GENTIL DUARTE ([link removed])
PERU ([link removed])
WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING ([link removed])

============================================================
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 ([link removed])
** DONATE TODAY ([link removed])
** Facebook InSight Crime ([link removed])
** Twitter InSight Crime ([link removed])
** LinkedIn InSight Crime ([link removed])
** Subscribe ([link removed])
** View past issues ([link removed])

InSight Crime is sponsored by:
** American University ([link removed])

** Open Society Foundations ([link removed])

** The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency ([link removed])
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 ([link removed])
** update subscription preferences ([link removed])

This email was sent to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
why did I get this? ([link removed]) unsubscribe from this list ([link removed]) update subscription preferences ([link removed])
InSight Crime . Medellin . Medellin 0000 . Colombia