This week, InSight Crime travels to the Colombian town of Tibú, Norte de Santander, located near the border with Venezuela, to understand the wave of gender-based violence against women there and the role of organized crime in unleashing it.
We also interview the president of South America’s smallest country, Suriname, about the criminal challenges facing the country. President Chandrikapersad Santokhi addresses corruption, cocaine trafficking routes, and dirty gold. And we investigate how fentanyl transformed from being a supply-driven phenomenon on the United States' West Coast to a demand-driven juggernaut spreading quickly across the country.
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The moment Alexandra* got on her bike and adjusted her helmet, she knew there was no turning back. It was five in the morning and still dark. She turned quickly to check on her passenger, Catalina*, a 14-year-old girl.
Catalina usually dressed in tight-fitting clothes and left her long hair down, but that morning she was wearing an oversized men’s shirt, a cap, and a mask that covered half of her face. To her family and friends, she would have been unrecognizable.
Alexandra wore a jacket to protect herself from the cold and used the motorcycle helmet to hide her hair. Catalina held onto her waist firmly, partly because of her nerves and partly so she didn’t fall off.
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Suriname, South America’s smallest country, is facing multiple criminal challenges. It is a cocaine transit route to Europe, an illegal gold mining hub, and a front line in the fight against kleptocracy.
Its President Chandrikapersad Santokhi entered office in July 2020 after a historic campaign. That election pitted Mr. Santokhi, a longtime police officer and former Minister of Justice (2005-2010), against Suriname’s then-most powerful person: convicted drug trafficker, alleged murderer, and two-time President Desiré “Dési” Bouterse (2010-2020).
Read the analysis >
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While addicted to opioids, 35-year-old Sherman Oaks native Matt Meakin once lived in Skid Row, a permanent, decades-old ...
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The Venezuelan government has placed small-scale miners and rogue mining gangs in its crosshairs ...
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Cocaine Brokers: The ‘Ndrangheta in South America
Next Wednesday, InSight Crime will publish a deep dive into how Italian Mafia group the ’Ndrangheta is capitalizing on South America’s cocaine boom to secure its position as one of the top players in the global drug trade. This organized crime group from the Calabria region is a multibillion-dollar enterprise, with a presence that spans the globe. But contrary to popular belief, the ’Ndrangheta is not a single organization, and the clans trafficking cocaine under the ’Ndrangheta name operate largely independently.
Read our investigation on the 23rd of November.
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Like Crime, Our Coverage Knows No Borders
The nature of global organized crime means that while InSight Crime focuses on Latin America, we also follow criminal dynamics worldwide. InSight Crime investigator Alessandro Ford covers the connections between Latin American and European crime groups, and was interviewed by BBC News Mundo on the Albanian mafia’s presence in the region. Meanwhile, InSight Crime Co-director Jeremy McDermott’s remarks on the cocaine pipeline to Europe were cited by Serbia’s Informer News, and in Vietnam and Romania.
Read our coverage of European Crime >
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Profiles of some of the notable criminal personalities and groups that have marked this week.
Browse by country > |
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The Tren de Aragua is Venezuela’s most powerful, homegrown criminal actor. Its headquarters are in the Tocorón prison ...
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The ex-FARC mafia are a series of criminal structures that emerged during the peace negotiations between the ...
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"A 2019 InSight Crime investigation found that Correa had turned the nation’s security and intelligence forces away from targeting drug traffickers to targeting his political opponents."
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