Criminal Organizations
Friday, April 24, 2015 - 07:20
Clad in bullet-proof vests and balaclavas, elite squads of soldiers and police are preparing to wage a guerrilla-style war on El Salvador’s gangs, trying to fight a surge in violence that experts warn may only intensify.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015 - 07:13
El Salvador’s year is already looking to be a particularly violent one. After emerging from one of its deadliest months in a decade and a fatal shootout this weekend, the government announced it would set up a police battalion to “clean up” the gang problem.
Monday, April 20, 2015 - 06:56
March was the deadliest month in a decade, according to tallies by the Prensa Grafica newspaper: 16 killings a day in a country with far fewer people than Los Angeles County. Some in El Salvador believe gangs used the truce, which broke down after little more than a year, as cover to consolidate and grow. And they question whether violence truly ebbed as much as suggested, noting that homicides may have declined but disappearances increased.
Thursday, March 26, 2015 - 07:00
A series of anonymous testimonies from Barrio 18 gang members taken by El Salvador's Attorney General's Office reveal the innards of the gang's structure, operations and rules.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015 - 07:19
El Salvador's largest street gangs have indicated they wield sufficient power to influence the country's presidential elections, in a statement highlighting the gangs' use of violence as a political tool.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015 - 07:11
In Argentina, Mexico and Brazil, major scandals have highlighted the murky links between serious crime and the political arena. Why have hopes of reform been dashed?
Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - 07:03
The massacre of eight people on a ranch in the outskirts of Cali -- Colombia's third-largest city and the second-most violent in the country -- has raised alarm over the presence of organized crime in the city, even as the city's authorities appear to disagree over the presence of armed groups there.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014 - 06:48
Reeling from an explosive surge of gangland violence which resulted in three murders and multiple casualties in a matter of hours, Prime Minister Dean Barrow on Thursday announced that Police will now be enforcing anti-gang laws.
Monday, September 22, 2014 - 09:27
La Agencia Central de Inteligencia (CIA) de EEUU auspició la consolidación del cártel de Guadalajara en los años 80, en contubernio con funcionarios de seguridad de alto rango del Estado mexicano, dijo a Efe el escritor Jesús Esquivel.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 07:22
Starting in the 1960's, several families -- with the help of private armies -- fought a bloody conflict for control of Colombia's emerald region, centered north of capital city Bogota in Boyaca province.