Beneath the Surface of Timber Trafficking on the Peru-Colombia-Brazil Border
Once untouched forest is now feeling the predatory hands of timber traffickers in the Amazon’s two tri-border regions. Illegal loggers…
Corrupt Officials Key to Trafficking Networks in Venezuela
The recent arrest of a military officer involved in a human trafficking ring in Venezuela exposes the oft-ignored and covert…
Venezuela’s Corrupt Officials Key to Human Trafficking Networks
The recent arrest of a military officer involved in a human trafficking ring in Venezuela exposes the oft-ignored and covert…
Guerrilla Resurrection: Shifts in Power Among Colombia’s Ex-FARC Mafia
As one former rebel leader reappears and urges his army to continue a losing fight, a rival dissident faction is…
The Shattered Mafia Behind Criminal Chaos in Zulia, Venezuela
Listen to this article This audio was generated using text-to-speech software Over Carnival weekend, as families crowded into Maracaibo’s small,…
Criminal Groups Ally With State Forces for Cattle Theft in Venezuela
An increase in cattle rustling across Venezuela has been driven by the joint involvement of public officials and criminal groups,…
Monagas: The Missing Link for Venezuela Drug Traffickers
Venezuela’s northeastern state of Monagas has shot up in the country’s drug seizure rankings in 2023, a sign traffickers may…
How Criminal Groups Helped Fill Venezuela’s Post-Chávez Void
When Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez succumbed to cancer in 2013, a perfect storm of crises was already looming on the…
Maduro’s Peace Defender Squads Are Anything But Peaceful
In March 2019, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro created a new wing of the Bolivarian Revolution political movement, the Peace Defender…
The Future of Venezuela’s Hybrid State
The evolution of a hybrid state in Venezuela, combining governance with criminality, has helped President Nicolás Maduro hold on to…