Durán, Ecuador’s New Crime Capital
Durán, a municipality of over 300,000 inhabitants in Ecuador’s coastal Guayas province, has undergone a dramatic transformation from a thriving…
Ecuador Gangs Target Prison Chiefs to Regain Control
The murder of the head of Ecuador’s largest men’s prison appears to be the latest act of violence by prison…
Prediction: Rising Homicides in Trinidad & Tobago Amid Gang Violence
Gang violence in Trinidad and Tobago is on the rise, and without significant policy changes, predictive models suggest the trend…
How Mexico’s CJNG Controls Guadalajara’s Expanding Drug Market
One of Mexico’s most powerful crime groups, the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG), is employing…
What a Decade of Data Tells Us About Organized Crime in Brazil
Violence increased in parts of northern Brazil over the past decade as criminal factions, bolstered by mass incarceration, fought over…
Cocaine Surge Fuels Violence as Opium Falls: UN Drug Report 2024
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its annual drug report, highlighting the manifold destruction caused by…
Honduras Doubles Down on Flawed Mano Dura Strategy
Honduran President Xiomara Castro unveiled a raft of “radical actions” the government intends to implement to tackle organized crime in…
Mexico’s Extreme Election Violence Explained
Political candidates in criminally strategic states like Chiapas, Guerrero, and Michoacán saw an outburst of violence this election cycle in…
Violence in Valle del Cauca Highlights Rise of Gang Massacres in Colombia
A spate of massacres in the southwestern Colombian department of Valle del Cauca illustrates how small urban gangs are increasingly…
In Zulia, Venezuela, Not Even Schools Escape Extortion
A threatening pamphlet sent to residents of a fishing village in the state of Zulia, Venezuela, marked a turning point…