Insight Crime

Families Displaced by the Ardillos Return Home in Guerrero, Mexico More than 15 families displaced by the Ardillos criminal group in Mexico returned to their homes in Guerrero, according to an August 16 statement by the Federal Ministry of the Interior (Secretariat de Gobernación – SEGOB). In May, the Ardillos launched an offensive against rival criminal groups and local police forces in the rural, mountainous region known as Guerrero’s Montaña Baja. Mexico’s Security Minister Omar Gar

Why Organized Crime in Venezuela Won’t Die Without Maduro Nicolás Maduro has been removed. So why hasn’t Venezuela’s organized crime problem disappeared with him? Because the system was never built around one person. Over decades, criminal economies became embedded in Venezuela’s political institutions, security forces, and territory. Drug trafficking networks, illegal mining groups, prison gangs, guerrillas, and state officials became interconnected parts of what InSight Crime calls a

On the Radar: Cartel Coalition’s Gaps and a CJNG Weapons Bust What can Washington’s new “cartel coalition” deliver?  What does the arrest of CJNG operators in Europe say about the group’s resilience? And can a joint police push stop Brazil’s two biggest gangs from carving up Bolivia’s border with Brazil? This week’s top three organized crime stories in On the Radar. ‘Shield of the Americas’ Meets in Panama The Americas Counter Cartel

Red Command (Comando Vermelho) The Red Command (Comando Vermelho – CV) is Brazil’s oldest criminal group. Created in a Rio de Janeiro prison in the 1970s as a self-protection group for prisoners, it started out with low-level crimes like muggings and bank robberies. But in the 1980s, the group moved into the cocaine trade, working with Colombian drug cartels and taking on a social leadership role in many of Rio’s marginalized neighborhoods. It has since grown into a sizable national and tran

Podcast | Gio and Fito: When Gangsta Rap Gets Real Gio was a gangsta rapper. He was also the right-hand man of Ecuador’s most notorious criminal, Choneros boss “Fito.” *This episode is also available in Spanish. Listen on YouTube Spotify Amazon Apple Jorge Mora Villamar, known to his fans as Gio, was a rapper, music producer, and DJ. His talent lifted him out of poverty and off the streets of Guayaquil. But it also led him into the inner circle o

Guerreros Unidos The Guerreros Unidos are a splinter group of the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO) based in central Mexico. The group is dedicated mainly to extortion and kidnapping but also sends drugs to the United States. The Guerreros Unidos are characterized by their aggressive tactics and use of extreme violence, which have attracted the attention of security forces and threatened the group’s long-term survival. Table of contents Recent Guerreros Unidos News What’s the Sto

National Liberation Army (ELN) The National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN) is Colombia’s last remaining insurgent group and one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Latin America. Its expansion and consolidation in Venezuela over the past decade have progressively transformed it into a binational structure. SEE ALSO: ELN in Venezuela Originally formed as a Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group influenced by the Cuban Revolution, the ELN focused on ext

The ‘Bukele Effect’ on Latin America’s Security Under President Nayib Bukele, El Salvador has become a popular exemplar for fighting organized crime in Latin America. And throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, leaders are attempting to follow the Bukele playbook.  In a few short years, Bukele managed to overpower the country’s gangs, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) and Barrio 18. His success stems from near-complete control of the Salvadoran government, which allowed

The InSight Take: Abelardo de la Espriella Inherits Colombia’s Fractured Criminal Landscape Colombia’s new president faces one of the most complicated criminal landscapes in the world. In this week’s InSight Take, Co-Director Jeremy McDermott and Senior Colombia Analyst Sara Garcia unpack what Abelardo de la Espriella inherits: powerful armed groups like the Gaitanistas and the ELN, record cocaine production, and booming illegal gold mining. They weigh Washington’s

Ketamine Trafficking Expands Across Latin America More and more countries across Latin America and the Caribbean are reporting cases of ketamine trafficking, reflecting a shift in the region’s drug markets driven by the rise of synthetic drug cocktails and more dispersed supply chains. On August 3, the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Arica, Chile, convicted 17 alleged members of an organization that trafficked ketamine from Peru to Chile. Shipments crossed the Tacna-Arica border using drug c

Alex Saab Alex Nain Saab Morán is a Colombian businessman accused of being one of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s main frontmen. The government of Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodríguez deported him to the United States in May 2026, where he faces criminal charges. International authorities have accused him of participating in a multibillion-dollar corruption and money laundering scheme involving several Venezuelan government officials. According to the US Department of Ju

Gulf Cartel (Cartel del Golfo) The Gulf Cartel is one of Mexico’s oldest criminal groups, but it no longer operates as a unified organization. It is divided into rival factions that have lost territory and influence, although they still control strategic areas of Tamaulipas, particularly the border cities of Matamoros and Reynosa. The Scorpions and the Cyclones are the most powerful factions. From the border, these groups smuggle migrants and drugs into the United States, move weapons and cash

Podcast | Three Ways to Lose a Son A mother searches for three missing children amid the wreckage of decades of armed conflict in Buenaventura, Colombia. *This episode is also available in Spanish. Listen on YouTube Spotify Amazon Apple About This Episode Buenaventura is Colombia’s main Pacific port and one of the continent’s most strategic corridors for cocaine trafficking. For decades, the city has been a battleground between guerrilla group

Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG) The Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG) is a transnational criminal group that emerged from the Milenio Cartel following a series of killings, arrests, and internal fractures. It is known for its aggressive use of violence and its public relations campaigns. Despite the capture of certain top leaders, it remains one of Mexico’s foremost criminal threats and appears set to continue expanding. Latest Updates on the Jalisc

On the Radar: ELN Bombing in Colombia Days Before New President Takes Office How are Colombia’s armed groups positioning themselves as a new, hard-line president takes power? Is gang violence spreading from Ecuador’s coasts into the capital? And can a five-country crackdown make a dent in the criminal economies destroying the Amazon? This week’s top three organized crime stories in On the Radar. Bomb Attributed to the ELN Wounds 14 in Cúcuta, Colombia A truck lo

Conquering Self Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada (ACSN) The Conquering Self Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada (Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada – ACSN), also known as Los Pachenca, is an armed group that emerged following the demobilization in 2006 of the paramilitary army led by Hernán Giraldo, alias “El Patrón,” on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Since then, the ACSN has consolidated its power in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the department of Magdalena, where

Shining Path The Shining Path or the Militarized Communist Party of Peru (Militarizado Partido Comunista de Peru – MPCP) is the last remnant of Peru’s guerrilla movement from the end of the 20th Century. Although the group’s power has greatly declined, it still maintains influence in the Apurímac, Ene, and Mantaro Rivers Valley (Valle de los Ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro – VRAEM) due to its drug trafficking alliances. The guerrilla group’s main sources of income are providin

Ismael Zambada García, alias ‘El Mayo’ Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias “El Mayo,” was the leader of a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. Along with Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo,” El Mayo is one of the most storied drug traffickers in Mexican history. Before being arrested by US authorities in July 2024, he was known primarily for maintaining a low profile and a focus on business over violence. In addition, he was one of the few old-guard bosses who had managed to ev

Cárteles Unidos The Cárteles Unidos (CU) is a criminal organization that was born out of an alliance between the Cartel de Tepalcatepec, Los Viagras and other groups to combat advances made by the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG) into Mexico’s state of Michoacán. It operates under a name previously used by other allied groups in the state to combat the Zetas. The CU is known for its involvement in illicit economies across Michoacán’s Tierra

Alexander Díaz, alias ‘Calarcá Córdoba’ Alexander Díaz, alias “Calarcá Córdoba,” is the commander of the General Staff of the Blocs and Front (Estado Mayor de Bloques y Frente – EMBF), a Colombian criminal organization whose roots trace back to the country’s armed, leftist guerrilla movement. What’s in this profile: Recent News on Calarcá Córdoba What is Calarcá Córdoba’s Story? What Criminal Activities Was Calarcá Córdoba Involved in? Where Did Calarcá Córdoba Opera