This week, InSight Crime published an investigation exploring how Colombia’s ELN guerrillas and dissident groups of the former FARC rebels ...

Weekly InSight
October 7, 2022 ([link removed])

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This week, InSight Crime published an investigation ([link removed]) exploring how Colombia’s ELN guerrillas and dissident groups of the former FARC rebels, which demobilized in 2016, have migrated to Venezuela, bringing war to the country while impeding peace at home. We also looked at the industrialization of migrant smuggling ([link removed]) on the US-Mexico border, where major criminal groups -- as well as small entrepreneurs -- have steadily made human smuggling a major part of their economic portfolios.


** Latest Investigation
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** The Colombo-Venezuelan Guerrillas: How Colombia’s War Migrated to Venezuela ([link removed])
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For twenty years, Venezuela was a refuge for Colombia’s Marxist guerrillas, a place where they could hide out from the military, run criminal economies, and carry out political work with impunity thanks to their friendly relationship with the government of President Hugo Chávez. But today, it is so much more.

Guerrillas such as the ELN have spread deep into Venezuelan territory, they are filling their ranks with recruits, taking control of communities, and interfering in politics. Today, they are binational guerrilla groups.
Read the investigation here:

1. Rebels and Paramilitaries: Colombia’s Guerrillas in Venezuela ([link removed])
2. How Venezuela Became a Cemetery for the ex-FARC Mafia Leadership ([link removed])
3. Pablito’s Plan: Rise of the ELN in Venezuela ([link removed])
4. Venezuela and the ELN’s Love-Hate Relationship with Drug Trafficking ([link removed])
5. Venezuela, Colombia, and the ELN at the Crossroads of Peace ([link removed])

On Monday, October 3, InSight Crime Co-Director Jeremy McDermott discussed the findings of the investigation with a guest panel featuring experts from Colombia and Venezuela. Watch the panel here:
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Don’t have time to watch it all? Read a summary of what was discussed:

Colombo-Venezuelan Guerrillas Pose Challenge for Colombia’s “Total Peace”: InSight Crime Panel ([link removed])


** Featured
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** Desperation in the Desert: The Industrialization of Migrant Smuggling on the US-Mexico Border ([link removed])
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Along the US-Mexico border, the business of smuggling migrants has evolved from a close network of clans with expert knowledge of crossing routes and connections to their migrant clients to a booming industry closely monitored and taxed by organized crime groups.

One place where this is clear is Altar, Sonora, a dusty village about 100 kilometers from the Arizona border that has gone from an agricultural hub to a staging area for thousands of migrants trying to enter the United States.

Read the analysis > ([link removed])


** NewsAnalysis
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All News ([link removed]) >
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** Extortion in Northern Triangle Worth Over $1 Billion Annually: Report ([link removed])
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A report into extortion in the Northern Triangle -- Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador -- has shed light on how incarceration...

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** US-El Salvador Tensions Rise with Extradition of Top MS13 Leader Blocked For Now ([link removed])
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A court in El Salvador has blocked the extradition of a top MS13 gang leader to the United States to face...

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** High-Profile Venezuela-US Prisoner Swap Comes at Opportune Moment ([link removed])
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The recent high-profile prisoner swap between Venezuela and the United States, involving relatives of President Nicolás Maduro....

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** Military Arsenals Provide Convenient Source of Weapons for Latin American Gangs ([link removed])
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Corruption within the ranks, a lack of supervision and tracking, and lackluster legislation are all to...


** Impact
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** ‘The Jungle Patrol’ Makes Headlines
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Our recent investigation ([link removed]) , “The Jungle Patrol: Fighting Illegal Loggers on the Guatemala-Mexico Border,” made international headlines. The investigation appeared on the front page of Mexico’s El Universal ([link removed]) , and was covered by Guatemala’sLa Hora ([link removed]) , Soy502 ([link removed]) , and elPeriódico ([link removed]) newspapers, as well as Yahoo ([link removed]) and Argentina’s La Nación
([link removed]) . InSight Crime’s Alex Papadovassilakis, the investigation’s co-author, was interviewed alongside the other author, Alejandro Melgoza, by El Financiero Bloomberg ([link removed]) , NTN24, La Octava, and Radio Infinita about the findings.

Read the investigation here > ([link removed])

‘The Jungle Patrol’ studies a timber mafia with ties to Asia that is ravaging nature reserves on the Guatemala-Mexico border, and the group of elite park rangers that is trying to stop them. Just how does precious wood from endangered trees illegally extracted from the Mayan Jungle end up in Asia? Watch this video to find out:
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How does precious wood from the Mayan jungle end up in Asia?


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

Browse by country > ([link removed])
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** ELN ([link removed])
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The National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional - ELN) is one of the two main guerrilla armies....
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** Ex-FARC Mafia ([link removed])
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The ex-FARC Mafia are a series of criminal structures that emerged during the peace negotiations between the...


** Media Mentions
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About Us ([link removed])
OCTOBER 6, 2022
BBC ([link removed])

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"An InSight Crime investigation from April shows that gangs like the Sailors Locos West Side, operating in nearby Maryland, control prostitution businesses that use Central American minors."
Read the cited article > ([link removed])


** Our Trending Topics
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US/MEXICO BORDER ([link removed])
VENEZUELA ([link removed])
COLOMBIA ([link removed])
ARMS TRAFFICKING ([link removed])

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