Corruption Sentences Pile Up in Ecuador, But Will It Matter?
Prosecutors in Ecuador have secured an unprecedented string of convictions in a series of high-profile corruption cases that have rocked…
Arévalo’s Budget Increase: Is the Guatemalan Government’s Search for Congressional Support Fueling Local Corruption?
In early May 2024, Guatemalan Finance Minister Jonathan Menkos submitted a proposal to Congress to increase the national budget by…
President Arévalo’s Counterproductive Stand-Off With Guatemala’s Attorney General
The viability of Arévalo’s anti-corruption agenda may rest on whether the president succeeds in removing Attorney General Consuelo Porras, whose…
Cementing Judicial Power: The Case of Néster Vásquez and Guatemala’s High Courts
On April 15, 2024, a seasoned Guatemalan magistrate, Néster Vásquez, became president of the country’s highest legal authority – the…
GameChangers 2024: Networks Replace Cartels in Cocaine Trade
As record flows of cocaine reached consumers around the globe in 2024, criminal organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean…
The Evolution of Ecuador’s Prison Crisis
Over the last five years, Ecuador has been engulfed in violence and a criminal chaos unprecedented in its modern history.…
The Forgotten Human Smuggling Route in the Darién
After a long flight over a sea of trees, the ocean begins to emerge through the window of the twin-propeller…
Massacres Surge as Gangs Atomize in Ecuador
A recent series of massacres in Ecuador is further evidence that more access to high-powered weapons, heightened impunity, and an…
Dominican Republic Breaks Seizure Record Amid Renewed Caribbean Trafficking
Record-breaking cocaine seizures in the Dominican Republic highlight the resurgence of the Caribbean as a major trafficking route to Europe…
The Anatomy of Violence in Durán
Homicides, many of them in public areas and with firearms, are a manifestation of increasing conflict between criminal groups in…