Weekly InSight
This week, InSight Crime tells the story of “Mula,” a Salvadoran MS13 member who, after developing connections with the Mexican Mafia in a US prison, was forced to walk a fine line between the two groups while engaging in criminal operations in Tijuana, Mexico. A rift eventually led to violence amongst the MS13 and a dramatic arrest.
Also this week, we analyze Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s steadfast denial that fentanyl is synthesized in the country; consider how the resignation of Venezuela’s Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami and the arrest of one of his key allies suggests a rift in the country’s state-embedded criminal networks; examine how a resurgence of violence in Peru shows the staying power of a faction of the guerrilla group the Shining Path; and explore the violence that had been plaguing the Mexican border city of Matamoros long before the kidnapping and murder of US citizens attracted global attention.

Featured

‘Mula’: The Connection Between MS13 and Mexican Mafia in Tijuana, Mexico

One afternoon in 1993, Nelson Alexander Flores Pacheco, better known as "Mula" within the MS13, took his knife, stabbed a taxi driver, and kicked his face repeatedly.

Just 22 years old and utterly reckless, he had assaulted the driver while intoxicated. After being arrested by Nevada police, he identified himself as a soldier with the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13). Nobody there had heard of the gang.

Read the analysis >

NewsAnalysis

Shining Path on the Offensive in Peru, Again


Clashes between Peruvian armed forces and a faction of the Shining Path have left over a dozen people dead in 2023, with the guerrilla group’s latest resurgence showcasing its staying power.

Venezuela Oil Minister Resigns Amid Political Fight With Criminal Ramifications


The resignation of Venezuela's Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami, just days after the arrest...
What Mexico’s Posture on Fentanyl Says About US Relations
Matamoros, a Symptom of Mexico's Larger Illness
5 Takeaways From UN Global Report on Cocaine 2023
Europe Narco-sub Heralds More to Come 
Dominican Republic Corruption Investigation Inches Toward Ex-President

Impact

UN Draws Heavily on InSight Crime Coverage for its Global Report on Cocaine 2023

 
InSight Crime’s continued coverage of cocaine production and trafficking made a significant impact on the newly released UN Global Report on Cocaine 2023, with our work cited 30 times. 

The report drew on InSight Crime’s research in its section focusing on cocaine trafficking in Africa, mentioning our analysis of Mozambique’s position within international drug flows, as well as the burgeoning roles South Africa and Libya have as budding trafficking hubs. Additionally, in outlining rising international involvement in the Ecuadorian drug market, it referenced our coverage of Albanian drug traffickers as well as Mexican and Colombian organized crime organizations within the country.

InSight Crime’s Victoria Dittmar also spoke to Deutsche Welle about fentanyl trafficking between Mexico and the United States, as many increasingly turn to our deep coverage of the synthetic opioid to understand the overdose crisis in the US and how it is impacting US-Mexico relations. 
 

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

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Shining Path

The Shining Path or the Militarized Communist Party of Peru (Militarizado Partido Comunista de Peru - MPCP) is the...

Tareck El Aissami

Tareck El Aissami was the Minister of Industries and National Production of Venezuela until...

Media Mentions
MARCH 21, 2023
DIÁLOGO AMÉRICAS
"According to InSight Crime, the 2021 arrest and later extradition of Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias Otoniel, head of narco-paramilitary group Clan del Golfo, may be the last arrest of a kingpin of his stature."

Our Trending Topics 
FENTANYL
COCAINE
US/MEXICO BORDER
PERU
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InSight Crime · Medellin · Medellin 0000 · Colombia