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…
InSide the Story: How We Investigated Honduras’ Women’s Prison Massacre
On August 16, 2023, InSight Crime published an investigation into Honduras’ National Women’s Penitentiary for Social Adaptation (Penitenciaría Nacional Femenina…
Is Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua ‘Invading’ the US?
Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang is causing increasing concern in the United States, even though the group appears to have…
Plata o Plomo: Ecuador’s Public Servants in Gangs’ Crosshairs
The murder of Ecuador’s youngest mayor spotlights how the country’s criminal groups violently target public officials who cannot be bought…
Arrests Suggest Corruption Behind Murder of Marielle Franco in Brazil
The arrests of current and former Rio de Janeiro officials for involvement in the 2018 murder of Rio councilwoman Marielle…