UN-Backed Haiti Force Unlikely to Root Out Gangs
The United Nations Security Council gave the green light for deploying a multinational armed force to Haiti, but questions linger…
Costa Rica Breaks Homicide Record Amid Security Coordination Struggles
Homicides in Costa Rica have reached record highs as the government struggles to coordinate numerous agencies to address mounting security…
El Salvador Police Reports Contradict Bukele’s Triumphalism
More than a dozen confidential reports from El Salvador’s National Civil Police obtained by InSight Crime reveal that, although “weakened”…
How El Salvador’s Police Creates, Uses Its Gang Database
Authorities routinely count gang “members” and, in the case of El Salvador, “aspiring” members and “collaborators.” But how do they…
Escobar’s Former Hitman Takes the Road to ‘Total Peace’ in Medellín, Colombia
Henry Holguín looked out from the empty second-floor balcony of a small restaurant in La Bayadera, a busy industrial neighborhood…
The Opportunities and Pitfalls of Colombia’s Ambitious New Drug Policy
The Colombian government’s new drug policy aims to radically shift the country’s approach to the fight against drugs. But given…
Is Northeast Cartel Expansion Driving Killings of Police in Nuevo León, Mexico?
Killings of police officers in Mexico’s northern state of Nuevo León have increased 143% between 2019 and 2022 amid a…
Are Ecuador’s Army, Police, and Prisons Beyond Reform?
The state of Ecuador’s security institutions and their inability to halt runaway criminal violence has been a central theme of…
Colombia Restarts Peace Talks with Ex-FARC Mafia, but Violence Persists
The Colombian government and a leading faction of the ex-FARC mafia have begun a new round of negotiations, in what…
3 Obstacles to Uruguay’s Fight Against Money Laundering
Money laundering cases tied to drug trafficking in Uruguay have almost doubled in the past five years, according to a…