InSight Crime

Last year, we published an investigation called, “Unintended Consequences: How US Policy Foments Organized Crime on the US-Mexico Border.” Our Co-director, Steven Dudley, and one of our investigators, Parker Asmann, traveled to the city of Matamoros, in Tamaulipas, Mexico, to learn firsthand how criminal groups like the Gulf Cartel have expanded their role in migrant smuggling in the region. There, they met Abraham, a former sinner turned death metal guitar player and Baptist pastor who now advocates for migrants and asylum seekers in a migrant camp that at times has housed thousands of people south of the Rio Grande. The new episode of our podcast tells Abraham’s story, and that of the treacherous journey that hundreds of thousands of people dare to take every year to try and get to the United States. Listen to “Demented Society” now at https://spoti.fi/3xmD4o6

In late 2022, InSight Crime published an investigation into a wave of gender-based violence in Tibú, a Colombian municipality located on the border with Venezuela that serves as a drug trafficking corridor for several illegal armed groups. Shortly thereafter, InSight Crime received new information and a testimony to explain the source of this violence. In our most recent investigation, we tell the story of Mar*, a woman who the security forces tried to recruit to be their informant in exchange for money. Even though she refused, the guerrillas operating in the area accused her of being one, forcing her to flee and seek support from government institutions. But the same institutions that first wanted her collaboration closed their doors and left her vulnerable to threats from criminal groups. Read the full story here https://bit.ly/4dbqZSW

During Brazil’s last military dictatorship, between 1964 and 1985, the jails were filled with political prisoners as well as criminals. The two mingled and soon the criminals were developing an ideology that centered on prisoners’ rights and improving prison conditions. Out of this came the country’s prison gangs. One of them, the Comando da Capital. (the capital command), organized around fighting what it called the “oppressors.” This meant the government, of course, but also society writ large, which they felt had excluded them. The ideology struck a chord, not just inside the prisons but in huge parts of Brazil, a country that is one of the most unequal on the planet and a place where repression and police killings are commonplace. Cut to 2024, the Comando da Capital is now called Primeiro Comando da Capital -PCC-, and it has close to 30,000 members covering at least a third of Brazil’s territory with an amorphous, compartmentalized structure that makes it especially complex for authorities to keep up with them. To learn more about the PCC, listen to “Crime Strengthens Crime” at https://bit.ly/3UxalpG

The highly publicized arrest of four alleged Tren de Aragua members in Bolivia seemed to suggest authorities were finally taking the Venezuelan crime group’s presence there seriously. But not all of the nation’s authorities seem to be onboard, with some politicians either refusing to comment or outright insisting the group does not operate there. Bolivia is not the only country where the authorities seem to have a difficult time determining the threat level posed by Tren de Aragua. Copycat groups and distinctly named cells have made it difficult for law enforcement in Chile and Peru to confirm when a criminal faction is part of Tren de Aragua or not. But other factors also skew how authorities throughout the Americas respond to the transnational group. Read our full analysis here: https://bit.ly/3UBemtp

The recent detention of Abraham Oseguera, the brother of CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” is the latest arrest of a close member of the cartel leader’s family. But there are questions around whether the continued pursuit of the relatives of cartel members truly weakens criminal organizations. Could such arrests compromise negotiation strategies used by law enforcement to offer immunity to relatives of drug bosses in exchange for their help in criminal investigations? There has been little long-term impact on the Sinaloa Cartel despite the take-down of leader Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo,” and his son Ovidio. Likewise, the recent arrest of El Mencho’s brother is unlikely to dent the CJNG’s rapid expansion throughout Mexico. Combined, the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG dominate the transport of cocaine and synthetic drugs to the US consumption market. Read our analysis: https://bit.ly/3Ql78al

During our latest investigation into the precursor chemical industry in China, we found that several companies that looked to be sending these substances to Mexican drug producers claimed to have connections with renowned Chinese universities. One of the companies we identified advertised having access to the "analytical facilities" of Zhejiang University and Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC). We spoke with numerous students pursuing their degrees at those universities and others. Most of them did not seem concerned that some of the companies and websites that were courting them may have connections to the precursor industry. To the students, these entities appeared legitimate, offering avenues to help their elders obtain extra income and financial independence. https://bit.ly/3U5YRt2

In the municipality of La Cañada, in the Venezuelan state of Zulia, no one is spared from extortion. Up to seven criminal gangs extort a range of local industries. Now, they are even turning their attention to local schools, demanding a dollar fee for each child attending class. The La Cañada municipality registered the highest murder rate in Zulia state in 2023, with 69.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. That is nearly three times Venezuela’s national rate, according to InSight Crime’s 2023 homicide round-up. La Cañada also registered the highest number of hire-to-kill assassinations in Zulia, the hits ordered by armed gangs. The municipality also posted the third highest number of extortions in the state, according to the Venezuelan Violence Observatory (Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia – OVV). Behind this criminal wave lies the paradox of a wealthy town where abundance led not to prosperity, but to unwanted attention from criminal gangs. https://bit.ly/443GBDR

Our research into the dark web led us to find MicroDroper, a precursor chemical distributor based in China. They offered to ship highly regulated chemicals to multiple addresses in Mexico, ensured "covert shipping," alluded to having customs contacts, and received payments in cryptocurrencies. We pretended to be interested in purchasing a fentanyl pre-precursor. Their website functions like any other e-commerce platform: you select the product, quantities, and provide an address. Upon checkout, they gave us a Bitcoin QR code to scan. That's where we stopped and abandoned the transaction. Read our full investigation here: https://bit.ly/3U5YRt2

Since launching a militarized response to gang violence in January, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has touted falling homicides while enjoying high popularity levels. He gained another victory in Sunday’s referendum, with Ecuadorians delivering an overwhelming show of support for his security agenda. Voters approved all nine of the crime and security measures proposed by the president, triggering changes to Ecuador’s constitution that will give its military a greater role in fighting domestic crime, permit the extradition of Ecuadorians for the first time, and create special courts to deal with criminals’ rampant abuse of constitutional protections. Following the vote, Noboa now has new tools at his disposal to fight organized crime’s growing influence in Ecuador. How will this affect the country’s security situation? Learn more about the changes here https://bit.ly/3Us3ei9