On the Radar: US Eyes Ground War Against Crime
What’s next for the US military campaign against Latin America’s criminal groups? What’s behind Chile and Peru’s recent security crackdowns?…
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…
On the Radar: Cartel Coalition’s Gaps and a CJNG Weapons Bust
What can Washington’s new “cartel coalition” deliver? What does the arrest of CJNG operators in Europe say about the group’s…
The ‘Bukele Effect’ on Latin America’s Security
Under President Nayib Bukele, El Salvador has become a popular exemplar for fighting organized crime in Latin America. And throughout…
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…
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…
The ‘New’ US War on Organized Crime
President Trump’s administration has made the fight against drug trafficking the premise for militarized, punitive action both at home and…
Can A New President’s Hard-Line Approach Stop the Spread of Coca in Colombia?
The United Nations has finally published its data on coca cultivation in Colombia in 2024, as drug crop plantations expanded,…
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…
The InSight Take: El Salvador’s Mass Trials Put Bukele’s Gang Crackdown on Display
El Salvador’s mass trials of alleged gang members are the latest phase in President Nayib Bukele’s hardline security model, aimed…