The InSight Take: The Shield of the Americas Grows, But Does it Have a Strategy?
Colombia just became the 19th member of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition—better known as Shield of the Americas—days after Defense…
Podcast | Gio and Fito: When Gangsta Rap Gets Real
Gio was a gangsta rapper. He was also the right-hand man of Ecuador’s most notorious criminal, Choneros boss “Fito.” *This…
On the Radar: ELN Bombing in Colombia Days Before New President Takes Office
How are Colombia’s armed groups positioning themselves as a new, hard-line president takes power? Is gang violence spreading from Ecuador’s…
The InSight Take: Ecuador’s Kingpin Strategy Has Tactical Wins, but Strategic Uncertainty
The capture of Ecuadorian crime boss Wilmer Chavarría, alias “Pipo,” was a major victory for President Daniel Noboa’s strategy of…
Mapping Latin America’s Megaprisons
In the three years since President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele opened his famous Terrorism Confinement Center (Centro de Confinamiento…
Podcast | A Marked House: Extortion in Ecuador
For Andrés and Juliana, Durán was home. That is, until extortionists from one of Ecuador’s most powerful gangs, the Chone…
On the Radar: The Rise of Liquid Cocaine
Could liquid cocaine become the go-to trick for traffickers across the region? Will “El Mayo” Zambada spend his final years…
The InSight Take: Inside Ecuador’s Chone Killers, the Latest Addition to US Terrorism List
The US State Department has added the Chone Killers in Ecuador to its list of foreign terrorist organizations operating across…
Choneros’ Extraditions to US Will Test Ecuador’s Kingpin Strategy
The extraditions to the United States of key members of the Choneros is a litmus test for Ecuador’s kingpin strategy…
José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito”
José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito,” was the head of the Choneros, one of Ecuador’s most prominent criminal groups. He…