InSight Crime

🇸🇻 🎙️ | We met Raúl Mijango, the protagonist of the season finale of our podcast, in a courthouse in San Salvador. A one-time rebel turned congressman turned gang mediator, Mijango was a central figure in the country’s politics and the ethical debate about an existential issue facing El Salvador: how to deal with street gangs. True to his guerrilla roots, Mijango believed that the gangs had to be part of the solution, and he dedicated the last few years of his life to that cause. But others disagreed. So much so they vilified him after he’d brokered a temporary cease fire between the main street gangs, and the Attorney General’s Office charged him with extortion in a case involving the truce. Years later, president Nayib Bukele established a hard line strategy that has since led to the incarceration of tens of thousands of Salvadorans. Listen to the season finale of our podcast at https://bit.ly/3yw6RLM

🇻🇪 | Following the announcement of Maduro’s victory by the electoral body in #Venezuela and the opposition’s allegations of fraud, it is likely that the country will see increasing international isolation and more sanctions. In response, Maduro will be forced to appeal to criminal networks and turn to illegal rents to stay afloat. As Venezuelans cast their votes on July 28, several instances of repression by armed collectives were reported. From these cases, it is clear that Maduro presides over a hybrid criminal state, where he allows armed groups to operate in exchange for sharing their profits with political and military actors and attacking the political opposition in their territories. This Tuesday, July 30, InSight Crime will host a live panel discussion in Spanish, where, alongside several experts, we will discuss the election results, as well as the future of the criminal landscape for both Venezuela and the region. Connect to the live broadcast, at 10:00 a.m. (COL) via our YouTube channel or our X account. 📎 https://bit.ly/46nYfDG

⚡ “Andrés” was beaten, asphyxiated, and electrocuted by Venezuelan police as they demanded information about “los malandros” — the gangsters. But his only crime was living in a marginalized neighborhood where the Tren del Llano gang holds sway in the town of Altagracia de Orituco. With the help of human rights defenders Defiende Venezuela, InSight Crime is telling the story of Andrés along with dozens of other victims of Operation Trueno, when security forces went on a rampage of torture, beatings, false imprisonment, robberies, and sexual abuse. Explore this series of graphic stories here. https://bit.ly/3XR4PjP

In Mexico, synthetic drug producers and traffickers of methamphetamine and fentanyl often work semi-independently and do not necessarily depend on hierarchical organizations or the Sinaloa Cartel factions operating under the thumb of the Chapitos and El Mayo. While the Sinaloa Cartel plays a vital role in the transport and wholesale markets, it is but one part of a vast supply chain. There is likely to be a temporary period of uncertainty among the factions associated with El Mayo and the Chapitos as they seek to realign themselves and renegotiate protection and commercial agreements. But for the dozens of independent and semi-independent drug production and trafficking networks, the recent arrests will not prevent them from continuing operations. https://bit.ly/3yqfFmm

As Ecuador’s gangs continue to diversify their criminal portfolios beyond transnational drug trafficking, the Lobos are moving aggressively on illegal mining. The group’s participation in mining is marked by devastating violence, most recently in the southern province of Camilo Ponce Enriquez. Here, a Lobos faction used mass kidnapping and brutal murder to send a message to local miners: “fall in line … or else.” This is just the latest instance of a phenomenon that has spread from the northern province of Imbabura east into the Amazon and south into Ecuador’s mining heartland. https://bit.ly/3YhvRkI

Hundreds of Kenyan police officers have arrived in Haiti to assist the embattled local police force amid a severe gang crisis. With gangs controlling up to 80% of Port-au-Prince, the UN-backed Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission is working to reclaim the city. However, concerns are growing about the mission’s effectiveness as violence persists and public perception declines. So far, the Kenyan officers have been involved in little to no direct combat. There have been a few official reports of successful operations, such as at the country’s General Hospital and Autorité Portuaire Nationale port. But claims that these reports are exaggerated and even inaccurate could cause public support to wane. Gangs remain undeterred by the presence of foreign officers. Some have ramped up violence to try to gain leverage with the government in potential peace negotiations, and others appear to be readying themselves for battle. The MSS, which aims to to dislodge gangs from neighborhoods and minimize civilian casualties, has a tough task ahead of it. https://bit.ly/4bSeb28

Los ojos del mundo esta semana están sobre Venezuela, que el domingo celebrará unas controvertidas elecciones presidenciales. El presidente Nicolás Maduro, que gobierna el país suramericano desde 2013, ha cimentado su poder con autoritarismo y alianzas con el crimen organizado, enfrenta una difícil reelección de acuerdo a múltiples encuestas que dan la victoria al candidato opositor Edmundo González, apoyado por la líder opositora María Corina Machado. Cualquiera de los resultados tendrá importantes implicaciones para el panorama criminal del país y la región, que ha sufrido la expansión del crimen organizado venezolano en los últimos años. InSight Crime analizará el tema junto a tres especialistas de Venezuela el próximo martes en una transmisión en vivo, en español, en nuestros perfiles de X y YouTube. ¡No se la pierda!.

In Mexico's western state of Jalisco, the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG) has been linked to an uptick in forced disappearances. Known for its use of explicit and extreme violence across the country, the group has opted to keep open violence to a minimum in Jalisco and the capital city of Guadalajara as it fights for total control of the local drug trade. Rather than leaving bodies in the streets, it has disappeared victims, fostering an environment of fear and ruining the lives of those searching for their loved ones. Read our analysis at: https://bit.ly/4bLTh4N

#NarcotráficoMarítimo Hace poco hablé con el capitán de fragata Glehiston Hernández Gutiérrez, director del CIMCON, el centro de investigación de narcotráfico márítimo de la Armada de Colombia. Me dijo que el uso de buques no tripulados (drones) y la transformación química de la molécula de cocaína para eludir su detección en los puertos, son las principales tendencias observadas en el narcotráfico marítimo en lo que va de año. Lea la entrevista completa en: https://lnkd.in/gWYjGpTd

The International Centre for Research and Analysis against Maritime Narcotrafficking (CIMCON) recently published the 2024 Catalog of Maritime Drug Trafficking Modalities, an updated version of the first edition published in 2022. The new edition describes the main strategies criminal organizations use to evade authorities in transoceanic drug trafficking, as well as the new methods identified since 2022. InSight Crime spoke with Frigate Captain Glehiston Hernández Gutiérrez, director of CIMCON, who told us that the use of unmanned ships and the chemical transformation of the cocaine molecule to evade detectionin ports are the main trends seen in maritime drug trafficking so far this year. Read the full interview at: https://bit.ly/46ifXsa