Weekly InSight
This week, This week, InSight Crime looks at the trial in the US of Dario Antonio Úsuga David, alias “Otoniel,” the last of Colombia’s old guard of drug traffickers and erstwhile leader of Colombia’s premier drug trafficking organization, the Urabeños, also known as the Gulf Clan and the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. As Otoniel pleads guilty to drug trafficking charges, we ask who will become the interlocutor between the Urabeños and the Colombian government as the groups seek a peace deal, and whether we’ll ever see the likes of Otoniel again.

We explain why Caribbean nations are uniting to demand a US government crackdown on gun smuggling amid a shocking rise in homicides in 2022. And we analyze the continued role of Jamaica in cocaine trafficking as the country’s authorities make a series of large-scale seizures.

Featured

Otoniel Pleads Guilty: Farewell to Colombia's Last Kingpin

Otoniel, the fallen head of the Urabeños crime syndicate, has pleaded guilty to a raft of crimes in New York. His trial marks the end of an era in Colombia's drug trafficking world.

Colombia's criminal underworld is now no longer dominated by powerful drug kingpins, those solitary figures with large private armies whose personal decisions influenced the international cocaine trade.

Read the analysis >

NewsAnalysis

Caribbean Nations Call for US Gun Crackdown As Murder Rates Soar


As American-made guns continue to be Caribbean gangs' primary source of weapons, heads of government are demanding that the US do more... 

Jamaica Seizing Ever-Larger Cocaine Shipments from Colombia


An increase in the size of cocaine seizures in Jamaica suggests that the island is playing a stronger role in...
Ecuador's Navy Grappling With Mounting Evidence of Criminal Collusion
Nature Under Threat in Ecuador as Gold Miners Target National Park

Impact

Escaping Barrio 18

 
Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s serving time in a maximum-security prison that his homeboys control. Leaving the gang means death.

The investigation was republished in full by many outlets, including Colombian newspaper El Espectador, Mexico’s La Lista, Central American narrative journalism platforms Divergentes and Contracorriente, as well as No-Ficción in Guatemala. The piece was included in the newsletter of the Global Investigative Journalism Network, while renowned journalists including Wilfredo Miranda Aburto and Sonja Peteranderl also shared the article.
 

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

Browse by country >

Tren de Guayana

Tren de Guayana is one of the most powerful of the...

Otoniel

Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias “Otoniel,” was the head of Colombia’s most powerful...

Media Mentions
JAN 21, 2023
THE TIMES

UK Times London
"Cocaine production saw a record increase last year, which will continue to grow in 2023, creating a bonanza and seeing yet more product make its way to Europe and the UK,” said Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime."

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InSight Crime · Medellin · Medellin 0000 · Colombia