Criminal Organizations
Thursday, December 17, 2015 - 07:09
How has Mexico moved from 2 cartels in the 1970s to 9 cartels today? That is the question the Mexican website Animal Político wanted to answer when in January 2015 they started to work on NarcoData, a data journalism project that shows the evolution of 40 years of drug dealing in Mexico, home to the most violent cartels in the world.
Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - 06:31
Authorities have pulled 17 bodies from a ravine in southern Mexico after they were reportedly discovered by a man who traveled from the United States in search of a missing relative.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015 - 05:42
Last Thursday, three men were gunned down in Culiacan, the capital of the northwestern state of Sinaloa. Hardly a notable occurrence in that traditionally violent region of Mexico, except for one thing: one of the victims happened to be José Vicente Zambada, a nephew of Ismael El MayoZambada.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015 - 05:31
The infiltration of criminal groups into El Salvador's security forces is a serious and ongoing threat, according to the government, and is contributing to record levels of violence experienced in the past year.
Monday, December 14, 2015 - 06:23
In the last two decades, Honduras has seen a significant increase in gang membership, gang criminal activity, and gang-related violence. The uptick in violence has been particularly troubling. In 2014, Honduras was considered the most violent nation in the world that was not at war.
Monday, December 14, 2015 - 06:09
Submitting to cartel demands is the only way to survive, said Hildebrando “Brando” Deandar Ayala, 39, editor in chief of El Mañana, one of the oldest and largest newspapers in the region with a print circulation of 30,000. “You do it or you die, and nobody wants to die,” he said. “Auto censura — self-censorship — that’s our shield.”
Monday, December 7, 2015 - 06:17
Authorities in Colombia have dismantled a network of illegal mining operators allegedly working for drug trafficking group the Urabeños, providing further evidence of how the country's criminal organizations are deepening their involvement in unregulated gold mining.
Friday, December 4, 2015 - 06:18
As world leaders congregate in Paris to discuss how to address global climate change, InSight Crime highlights five criminal industries that are causing enormous environmental degradation in Latin America.
Thursday, December 3, 2015 - 06:47
Indeed, there were at least three different components of violence: open warfare between the two major gangs, a recruitment process that involved high levels of coercion and violence, and a resource generation strategy centered on extortion and intimidation. Ironically, incarcerated gang members used cell phones to extort business, especially those in the transportation sector.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015 - 06:58
Interviews with gang leaders in Honduras and El Salvador make clear that the MS13 street gang is transforming into a more sophisticated criminal organization -- one that is turning away from extortion and towards transnational drug trafficking as a way to bring in funds.