Colombia-Venezuela Border Killing Hints at Growing Guerrilla Conflict
The alleged killing of a guerrilla commander near the Colombia-Venezuela border suggests that a fragile criminal alliance that up until…
Anti-Mining ‘Crackdown’ Shifts Ops Elsewhere in Venezuela
Despite repeated and widely publicized government operations against illegal mining in Venezuela’s Amazonas state, the criminal networks and corrupt actors…
Are New Laws Actually Worsening Peru’s Security Crisis?
Extortion is rising, contract killings are up, illegal mining is booming, and Peru’s lawmakers are making matters worse by passing…
A Golden Opportunity: Maduro and Venezuelan Miners Target Essequibo
Just after 5 p.m. on May 13, 2025, shots rang out along the Cuyuní River, as troops from the Guyana…
The 3 Biggest Threats to Indigenous Communities in Peru’s Amazon
In Peru’s Amazon, Indigenous communities face an escalating threat from organized crime, yet remain largely invisible to the state, according…
Peru Massacre Exposes Mining Gangs’ Power
The massacre of 13 mine workers highlights how Peru’s mining gangs have developed into criminal behemoths. The bodies of the…
Illegal Gold Mining in Brazil Likely to Survive Tougher Regulations
Gold traders in Brazil must now prove that they get their metal from legal sources, following a recent Supreme Court…
6 Illegal Economies Threatening Latin America’s Ecosystems
Criminal organizations behind environmental crimes and other illicit economies in Latin America and the Caribbean are placing the region’s vast…
Organized Crime Cashes In on Record Gold Prices
Gold trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean has never been more profitable. Prices of the precious metal surged over…
The Criminal Creep of Ecuador’s Gangs Into Peru
As unknown men marched through a rural indigenous community in Peru’s Amazonian province of Condorcanqui, residents looked on with a…