PODCAST · society
Audio | InSight Crime
by InSight Crime
*Our content is bilingual | Nuestro contenido es bilingüe.Drawing on field research, local sources, and expert voices, InSight Crime tells the human stories behind organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, explaining how criminal networks operate, how they impact countries and communities, and why these dynamics continue to shape the region.Visit our web site for more: insightcrime.org
Episodes
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Cartel FTO Designations: What They Mean for Companies | The InSight Take
What do the latest Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designations of 21 criminal groups in Latin America and the Caribbean actually change for companies? Claire McCleskey, a former head of OFAC's compliance division, spoke to InSight Crime’s managing editor Deborah Bonello about that more in...
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Dispatch From Culiacán: Two Years of the Sinaloa Cartel War | The InSight Take
Two years after Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias "El Mayo," was handed over to US authorities, the war between the Chapitos and the Mayiza factions of the Sinaloa Cartel continues to roil. The Sinaloa Cartel is now being rebuilt around different people. InSight Crime's Victoria Dittmar and…
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Why did the US remove Venezuela from its drug list?
Venezuela is officially off the US’s blacklist of nations that have failed to adequately tackle drug trafficking. InSight Crime Managing Editor Deborah Bonello and Co-Director Jeremy McDermott look at what Venezuela’s removal means, the US drug certification process, Colombia and Bolivia’s...
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The Autopsy of Total Peace | The InSight Take
Deborah Bonello speaks to InSight Crime co-founder Jeremy McDermott, who has covered Colombia for close to thirty years, about what the final ledgers on Total Peace show: What the ceasefires do? What did the collapse in Catatumbo reveal? And how have gold and extortion risen as key criminal...
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Organized Crime in Brazil's Elections | The InSight Take
With Brazil’s presidential election just weeks away, public security has become a defining campaign issue. In this week’s InSight Take, InSight Crime Co-director Steven Dudley and Investigator Christopher Newton explore how the US terrorist designations of the First Capital Command (Primeiro...
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The InSight Take: Who Killed Fernando Villavicencio? Ecuador's Reckoning
The original version of this episode wrongly stated Xavier Jordán had been sentenced on corruption charges. Jordán has been charged in relation to corruption in the hospital system and in the Metastasis investigation but neither case has yet gone to trial and he has not been convicted on any...
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The InSight Take: How Organized Crime Is Adopting New Drone Technology
Organized crime groups across Latin America are weaponizing commercial drones, pairing them with IEDs to attack rivals, security forces, and civilians. From CJNG's drone unit in Mexico to gang warfare in Rio's favelas and ELN surveillance drones in Colombia, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy...
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The InSight Take: The Shield of the Americas Grows, But Does it Have a Strategy?
Colombia just became the 19th member of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition — better known as Shield of the Americas — days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew to Panama to declare its new motto: "We do bad things to bad people." On this week's InSight Take, Managing Editor Deborah…
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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 thisweek'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…
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The InSight Take: Ecuador's Kingpin Strategy Has Tactical Wins, but Strategic Uncertainty
The capture of Ecuadorian crime boss Wilmer Chavarría, alias “Pipo,” was a major victory for President Daniel Noboa’s strategy of targeting high-value criminal leaders. But it also raises a larger question: Do arrests of top criminal leaders weaken organized crime, or simply make it more…
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The InSight Take: Juan Orlando Hernández, from Indictment to Pardon
From the halls of presidential power to a 45-year prison sentence—and then a shocking return to freedom—this week, we take a look at the story of the former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH). InSight Crime’s Managing Editor Deborah Bonello speaks to Co-director Steven Dudley…
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The InSight Take: After El Mayo's Sentencing, Is the Godfather Era of the Sinaloa Cartel Over?
Ismael Zambada Garcia alias El Mayo just got sentened to life without parole, marking the end of a four-decade run as one of Mexico's most powerful traffickers. InSight Crime's Deborah Bonello and Victoria Dittmar break down how his sentencing won't end the war in Sinaloa but signals a new…
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The InSight Take: CJNG's New Boss? Not So Fast
Following the death of CJNG leader "El Mencho" in a February 2026 military operation, US authorities have named his stepson, Juan Carlos Valencia González, alias "El 03," as the group's new leader. But El 03 is one of several senior CJNG figures with a claim to power, and the group may avoid…
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The InSight Take: Washington's Newest ‘Terrorist’ Label Meets Ecuador’s Fracturing Gang War
The United States has designated Ecuador's Chone Killers a terrorist organization, but the group has splintered and has no single command structure. InSight Crime's Gavin Voss, Steve Dudley and Deborah Bonello discuss how the label may not map cleanly onto a fragmented reality, echoing a broader...
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The InSight Take: El Salvador’s Mass Trials Put Bukele’s Gang Crackdown on Display
El Salvador’s mass trials of alleged gang members are the latest phase in President Nayib Bukele’s hardline security model, aimed at locking in the dismantling of MS13 and Barrio 18 while processing a massive backlog of cases. InSight Crime's Managing Editor Deborah Bonello and Central America...
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Colombia Turns Right With Abelardo de la Espriella: Washington and Security Challenges
The winner of Colombia's presidential elections Abelardo de la Espriella promised to stop negotiating with guerrilla armies and unleash the country's experienced security forces against criminal groups there. But will the Trump-aligned president-elect keep his promises when he takes office in...
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The InSight Take: The Real Risks of Mexico's World Cup
InSight Crime's Co-Director Steven Dudley and Managing Editor Deborah Bonello separate fact from fiction around the real security risks in Mexico for tourists coming to the World Cup, and look back at the connection between organized crime and soccer.
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PCC and Red Command: Who Loses From US Terrorist Designations in Brazil?
The designation of two of Brazil's biggest criminal groups, the PCC and the Red Command, as foreign terrorist organizations by the United States promises to impact businesses, financial institutions, and the economy more widely, as much as the gangs themselves. In today's InSight Take, Managing...
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Venezuela asegura que combate el crimen organizado: ¿realmente lo hace?
Durante años, el gobierno venezolano ha mantenido una relación simbiótica con ciertos grupos criminales del país, colaborando con ellos para mantenerse en el poder y beneficiarse de actividades ilícitas. Pero a medida que Estados Unidos ha intensificado sus acciones contra el crimen en América...
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Venezuela Says It is Fighting Organized Crime. Is It?
For years, the Venezuelan government has had a symbiotic relationship with certain criminal groups in the country, working together to maintain power and profit from illicit activities. But as the United States has taken increasingly aggressive anti-crime action in Latin America under President...
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Ecuador asegura que la extorsión está disminuyendo. La realidad es más compleja
La violencia de las pandillas y el crimen han aumentado a niveles sin precedentes en Ecuador en los últimos años. Grupos como Los Lobos, Los Choneros y Los Tiguerones luchan por alianzas con grupos internacionales de narcotráfico y por el control de territorios estratégicos. En las zonas que...
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Ecuador Says Extortion Is Down. The Reality Is More Complicated.
Gang violence and crime has surged to unprecedented levels in Ecuador in recent years. Groups like the Lobos, the Choneros, and the Tiguerones fight for alliances with international drug trafficking groups and control over strategic territories. In the areas they control, these groups reign…
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Estado Mayor Central retiene la ‘Paz Total’ en Cauca, Colombia
Colombia está a punto de vivir un cambio de liderazgo con la proximidad de la primera vuelta de las elecciones presidenciales, que se celebrará el 31 de mayo. Y a medida que el mandato del presidente Gustavo Petro llega a su fin, también lo hace su ambiciosa iniciativa de Paz Total, que intentó...
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Colombia’s EMC Holds ‘Total Peace’ Hostage in Cauca
Colombia is poised for a shift in leadership as its first round of presidential elections approaches on May 31. And as President Gustavo Petro's term draws to a close, so too does his ambitious Total Peace initiative, which attempted to engage and negotiate with many criminal groups across the...
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¿Quién es ‘El Jardinero’, el operador clave del CJNG capturado en México?
Este año ha estado marcado por la captura de varios presuntos capos criminales en América Latina: un líder de alto rango de la banda ecuatoriana Los Lobos, uno de los clanes delictivos del Cartel de Sinaloa en México, e incluso el expresidente de Venezuela, quien enfrenta cargos en Estados…
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Who Is ‘El Jardinero,’ the CJNG Power Broker Arrested in Mexico?
This year has seen the capture of many alleged crime bosses around Latin America: a top leader of Ecuador’s Los Lobos gang, one of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel crime families, and the former president of Venezuela, who faces charges in the United States, to name a few. In Mexico, the formidable…
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Por qué la cocaína sigue fluyendo por el Caribe: una guía visual
En la última Historia narrada, analizamos el impacto de los ataques militares estadounidenses sobre el tráfico de drogas en el Caribe y cómo los grupos criminales se han adaptado al aumento de la presión. Esta semana, hemos elaborado una guía visual para mostrar cómo se ha movido históricamente…
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Why Cocaine Keeps Flowing Through the Caribbean: A Visual Guide
In the last Narrated Story, we looked at the impact of US military strikes on drug trafficking in the Caribbean, and how criminal groups have adapted to increased pressure. This week, we’ve put together a visual explainer to show how cocaine has historically moved through the Caribbean, and how...
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¿Qué impacto tuvieron los ataques militares de Estados Unidos en el tráfico de drogas en el Caribe?
El 2 de septiembre de 2025, la administración estadounidense de Donald Trump lanzó una campaña militar destinada a desmantelar el narcotráfico en el Caribe. Un ataque mortal contra una embarcación y sus 11 tripulantes fue la primera de muchas operaciones que desafiaron las normas internacionales…
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Did US Military Strikes Impact Caribbean Drug Trafficking?
On September 2, 2025, the US administration of Donald Trump launched a military campaign aimed at dismantling drug trafficking in the Caribbean. A deadly attack on a vessel and its 11 crew members was the first of many operations that defied international norms and the rule of law. What has been...
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¿El puerto más grande de Brasil está ganando la batalla contra los traficantes?
En la Historia Narrada de esta semana, traemos una historia de éxito: cómo el centro del narcotráfico brasileño, el Puerto de Santos, ha logrado frenar el paso de drogas por sus aguas, con incautaciones que han caído un 75% en los últimos seis años. Nuestros investigadores reportaron esta…
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Is Brazil’s Biggest Port Winning the Fight Against Drug Traffickers?
In this week’s Narrated Story, we bring you a success story: how the Brazilian drug trafficking hub Port of Santos has cracked down on drugs moving through its waters, with seizures falling 75% over the last six years. Our investigators reported this story from the Port of Santos, and this…
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Tensiones en la policía ponen a prueba el modelo de seguridad de Rosario, Argentina
En febrero de 2026, la ciudad de Rosario, Argentina —epicentro de la violencia letal en el país, con una tasa de homicidios de más del doble que la media nacional— experimentó una drástica caída en los homicidios, gracias a un nuevo modelo de seguridad. Pero debajo de la superficie de este éxito…
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Police Crisis Tests Security Strategy in Rosario, Argentina’s Organized Crime Hub
In February 2026, the city of Rosario, Argentina — which is the epicenter of lethal violence in the country, with a homicide rate more than double the national average — witnessed a dramatic drop in homicides, thanks to a new security model. But beneath the surface of this success lies a brewing...
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Lo que la captura de Marset revela sobre el negocio de la cocaína
*El próximo artículo sobre Marset mencionado en el episodio ya salió. Lealo aquí: La maquinaria de corrupción detrás del imperio de Sebastián Marset __ Sebastián Marset fue un actor clave en el comercio internacional de cocaína. El narcotraficante uruguayo fue capturado el 13 de marzo en el…
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What Marset’s Capture Tells Us About the Cocaine Business
*The latest article on Marset mentioned in this week’s story is already out. Read it here: The Corruption Engine Behind Sebastián Marset’s _ Sebastián Marset was a major mover and a shaker in the international cocaine trade. The Uruguayan drug trafficker was captured on March 13 in eastern…
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Cómo las decisiones criminales sobre el mercado de drogas impactan la salud pública en el norte de México
La crisis de sobredosis por fentanilo ha devastado a Estados Unidos, con más de 160.000 muertes entre 2020 y 2023. Pero 2024 marcó un posible punto de inflexión, con una caída de casi el 27% en las muertes por sobredosis — la mayor disminución anual registrada. Mientras tanto, en México, el...
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How Criminal Decisions Over the Drug Market Impact Public Health in Northern Mexico
The fentanyl crisis has ravaged the United States, with overdoses causing the deaths of more than 160,000 deaths, between 2020 and 2023. But, 2024 marked a possible turning point, with overdose deaths falling by nearly 27 percent—the largest single-year decline on record. Meanwhile, in Mexico,...
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Estados Unidos y la redefinición del Cartel de los Soles
Han pasado tres meses desde que Estados Unidos arrestó al expresidente de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, acusado de liderar el Cartel de los Soles. Sin embargo, persiste una gran confusión e incertidumbre sobre qué es exactamente el Cartel de los Soles y cómo opera. En esta historia narrada,...
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The Shifting US Portrait of the Cartel of the Suns
It has been three months since the US arrested Venezuela’s former President Nicolás Maduro, who is accused of leading the Cartel of the Suns. Yet there remains much confusion and uncertainty about what exactly the Cartel of the Suns is and how it operates. In this Narrated Story, we’ll dive into...
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La ofensiva del CJNG tras la muerte de ‘El Mencho’: ¿demostración de poder o golpe final?
El pasado 22 de febrero, el presunto líder del Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias El Mencho, fue asesinado en una operación liderada por el ejército, lo que provocó una oleada de violencia sin precedentes por parte del cartel. Sin embargo, esto no es nuevo en el...
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CJNG Violence After the Killing of ‘El Mencho’: Power Play or Last Gasp?
Last February 22nd, the presumed leader of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias El Mencho was killed in an operation led by the army, which resulted in a widespread burst of violence from the cartel that we’ve never seen before. This was nothing new for Mexico’s...
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Más allá del Cartel de los Soles
Durante años, el expresidente venezolano Nicolás Maduro tejió una economía en las sombras en Venezuela, donde las ganancias del coca y el oro ilícito filtraron sus hilos hacia las manos de funcionarios leales a través de redes oscuras y descentralizadas conocidas como el Cártel de los Soles. Hoy...
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Beyond the Cartel of the Suns
For years, former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro wove a shadow economy in Venezuela, where profits from cocaine and illicit gold seeped into the hands of loyal officials through obscure, decentralized networks known as the Cartel of the Suns, or Cartel de los soles. Today Maduro is in US...
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¿Está funcionando la estrategia antinarcóticos de México enfocada en la familia?
El gobierno de México anunció una gran victoria contra el crimen organizado: Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, conocido como El Mencho, murió durante un operativo para capturarlo el 22 de febrero de 2026. La respuesta fue inmediata. El grupo criminal que encabezaba, el Cártel Jalisco Nueva...
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What Does the Killing of 'El Mencho' Mean for Mexico’s Drug War?
InSight Crime Investigator Victoria Dittmar and Co-Director Steven Dudley discuss how the killing of CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho" is going to impact the organization he led, as well as Mexico's criminal future, drawing on lessons from the past. Visit insightcrime.org...
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Informe coloca a bancos internacionales y élites de Honduras en el centro del asesinato de Berta Cáceres
Han pasado casi 10 años desde que la reconocida activista indígena y defensora del medio ambiente Berta Cáceres fue asesinada en Honduras en marzo de 2016. Cáceres fue atacada por oponerse a la construcción de una presa hidroeléctrica que amenazaba un río que el pueblo indígena lenca considera...
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Report Puts International Banks, Honduras Elites at Center of Berta Cáceres Murder
It’s been almost 10 years since renowned Indigenous activist and environmental defender Berta Cáceres was murdered in Honduras in March 2016. Cáceres was targeted for opposing the construction of a hydroelectric dam that threatened a river the Indigenous Lenca people consider to be sacred. To…
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Alimentando a la bestia: la MS13 en Nashville
Las redadas de migrantes en Minneapolis por el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (o ICE por sus iniciales en inglés) están dominando las noticias en los últimos meses. Más de 3,000 agentes federales fueron mandados a Minneapolis y varias personas han muerto en confrontaciones con los...
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Are ICE's Roundups in the United States an Effective Anti-Crime Strategy?
The Trump administration has used the threat of organized crime to justify roundups of suspected undocumented migrants in states across the country. InSight Crime's Managing Editor Deborah Bonello and Senior Investigator James Bargent discuss the findings of our recent investigation into...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
*Our content is bilingual | Nuestro contenido es bilingüe.Drawing on field research, local sources, and expert voices, InSight Crime tells the human stories behind organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, explaining how criminal networks operate, how they impact countries and communities, and why these dynamics continue to shape the region.Visit our web site for more: insightcrime.org
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*Our content is bilingual | Nuestro contenido es bilingüe.Drawing on field research, local sources, and expert voices, InSight Crime tells the human stories behind organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, explaining how criminal networks operate, how they impact countries and...
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