InSight Crime

🇧🇷 | In 2026, trafficking of weight loss medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro has surged in Brazil. How are these medications diverted in Paraguay and smuggled into São Paulo? youtube.com/shorts/q6lfYAaxv…

🇧🇷 | Lula secured a fourth presidential term in Brazil, where criminal networks remain a major challenge. From money laundering through financial institutions to organized crime in the Amazon, our latest analysis examines the agenda awaiting his government: bit.ly/4yGyOcU

InSight Crime’s newsletter is how policymakers, journalists, and security experts stay informed about the organized crime challenges they face. Subscribe now for exclusive insights delivered to your inbox every week. bit.ly/3OIblHm

Gangs of highwaymen have turned Costa Rica into a cargo theft hotspot. To find out how this booming criminal economy works, we rode shotgun with a Panamanian truck driver and his armed security detail. bit.ly/3USaiHW

From Honduras and Costa Rica to Ecuador and Panama, governments are embracing massive prisons as part of their response to organized crime. Our analysis maps where these projects stand—and what they reveal about regional security strategies. bit.ly/4zbefqG

🇨🇴 | Digital extortion has gained ground in Colombia, according to a study by the DNP and Asocapitales. Between January and April 2026, extortion increased by 8% compared to the same period in 2025. Read our coverage of this criminal dynamic in the region here: bit.ly/4dOmLTp

#NewInvestigation | Highwaymen: How Cargo Theft Gangs Operate in Costa Rica. bit.ly/3USaiHW

🌎Ecuador’s El Encuentro and Paraguay’s Minga Guazú are among the few megaprisons already operating outside El Salvador. Argentina, Panama, and other countries are pursuing similar projects. Explore the region’s growing prison expansion. bit.ly/4zbefqG

How are criminal networks and trafficking routes shaping the synthetic drug trade? Explore these dynamics in the revised edition of InSight Crime’s The Synthetic Drug Revolution, drawing on more than 15 years of research. Get the e-book: bit.ly/4zKFyHG

Today, readers turn to InSight Crime to understand issues ranging from fentanyl markets to the expansion of the Tren de Aragua because our reporting follows these stories over time—not just when they make headlines. Help us continue producing independent reporting that helps explain organized crime . bit.ly/47z7xw2

🇪🇨 | Jorge Luis Zambrano, alias “Rasquiña,” built one of Ecuador’s most dynamic criminal groups from his cell, forging a network known as the Choneros Federation. Explore how he turned imprisonment into a recruitment opportunity: bit.ly/4zfwE5e

🇭🇹 | Haiti’s long-awaited elections have been postponed once again. With gangs wielding extensive territorial and political power, the road to restoring democratic rule is littered with challenges. Read our coverage: bit.ly/4BiEvAh

🇧🇷 | Weight loss drugs are now one of the most smuggled contraband products in Brazil. How are looser pharmaceutical regulations in Paraguay driving this new trafficking trend? youtube.com/shorts/q6lfYAaxv…

🇧🇷 | Homicides have fallen in Brazil, but organized crime continues to expand into new markets and territories, particularly in the Amazon. How will Lula address these challenges in his fourth term? Read our analysis: bit.ly/4yGyOcU

🇸🇻 | Bukele’s crackdown weakened MS-13 and Barrio 18 and transformed security in El Salvador. But it also left an overwhelmed prison system and allegations of abuses. How did the country change, and at what cost? Read our analysis: bit.ly/4iTK95c

The revised edition of The Synthetic Drug Revolution is here. Drawing on more than 15 years of InSight Crime research, this exclusive e-book explores the criminal networks, trafficking routes, and market dynamics shaping the synthetic drug trade.  Get your E-book here: bit.ly/4zKFyHG

An Ecuadorian city transformed by extortion. A community resisting violence in Colombia. A father searching for his disappeared son in Mexico. These are some of the stories of Season 2 of The InSight Crime Podcast. 🎧 Listen now. tr.ee/4BNW_8_Ait

🇪🇨 | The alleged leader of a US-designated foreign terrorist organization lives freely in Spain. How did a former prison guard evade extradition after founding one of Ecuador’s most powerful gangs? bit.ly/4yifPoO

🇻🇪 | The government of Nicolás Maduro fostered the conditions for establishing a criminal system in Venezuela, profiting from illicit activities such as drug trafficking and illegal mining. Why does this criminal system continue without him? Find the answer here: bit.ly/3UndzhN

🇧🇷 | Lula begins his fourth presidential term facing a complex security agenda. Criminal groups in Brazil are expanding into new illegal economies, as money laundering investigations expose links between organized crime and the financial sector. Read our analysis: bit.ly/4yGyOcU