Dec 27, 2024 · Ecuador became the latest Latin American nation to turn to a militarized response to combat organized crime in 2024. But the crackdown has missed its mark, leading to a reorganization rather than destruction of the country’s criminal groups.

Dec 16, 2024 · Stay Informed With InSight Crime. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a weekly digest of the latest organized crime news and stay up-to-date on major events, trends, and criminal dynamics from across the region.

May 27, 2024 · 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.

Jul 12, 2024 · Tren de Aragua is Venezuela’s most powerful homegrown criminal actor and the only Venezuelan gang that has successfully projected its power abroad. It has grown from a prison gang limited to the state of Aragua, to a transnational threat with a wide criminal portfolio.

Jul 19, 2024 · One of Mexico’s most powerful crime groups, the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG), is employing forced disappearance and exploiting corruption to build up a burgeoning local drug market on its home turf of Guadalajara. Drug use, in particular of crystal methamphetamine, has skyrocketed in recent years in and around …

Dec 6, 2023 · Sources: Emergency decree enacted by El Salvador legislative assembly, March 26 2022; El Salvador legislative assembly; confidential police intelligence reports; interviews with El Salvador security officials; Revista Factum But while the crackdown’s impact has been transformative, the gangs are not finished in El Salvador. In fact, the government’s own data …

Jan 15, 2025 · In June 2024, Guatemala’s Interior Ministry filed a legal complaint with the Attorney General’s Office against 102 prison guards it accused of corruption. The guards had been manning a notorious gang prison in the Escuintla department, known colloquially as …

Apr 24, 2023 · In less than a decade, the Jalisco Cartel - New Generation (CJNG) has transformed into one of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations in the world. From a small group of deserters from the now-extinct Milenio Cartel, they evolved into a vast criminal network whose links extend through all of the Americas, as well as Europe and Asia.

Dec 3, 2024 · In the space of just a few years, the Lobos have evolved from a splinter group of the Choneros to one of Ecuador’s most powerful and innovative criminal organizations, with thousands of members spread across the country and within the prisons.

Jan 2, 2025 · As record flows of cocaine reached consumers around the globe in 2024, criminal organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean have adapted to law enforcement pressure, swapping hegemonic hierarchies for complex networks.