#NewInvestigation | How Fentanyl Producers in Mexico Are Adapting to a Challenging Market.

#NewAnalysis | How ‘Walter White’ Took Meth Production to São Paulo.

🇨🇷 | The assassination attempt against a high-level law enforcement official in Costa Rica signals the growing power of the country’s organized crime groups. Find out what this means for security in the country.

🇪🇨 After President Daniel Noboa’s government deployed the military to fight criminal groups in 2024, experts are warning that Ecuador’s security may depend more on criminal groups than government policy. What does this mean for the elections on February 9?

In Sunday’s presidential election, Ecuadorians will choose between incumbent Daniel Noboa, and main opposition figure Luisa González. While bitter rivals, the candidates have similar security proposals. Will it be enough to turn the tide against crime in Ecuador?

🇻🇪 | This week on #VenezuelaObservatory: Alleged criminals were killed in confrontation with police in San Vicente, one of the historic strongholds of the Tren de Aragua in the country. Read how the group has resisted state offensives.

🇲🇽 | Criminal groups have incorporated handmade explosive devices into their offensive and defensive tactics. As a result, @SEDENAmx has recorded a dramatic increase in their seizure since 2022. Read our latest #DataInSights here.

🇧🇷 | Gangs in Brazil use social media to monitor the activity of suspected enemies. Our recent article maps the known cases where hand gestures, photos, and social media posts directly triggered a gang execution.

🇵🇹 | Portugal's geography and historical ties have made it a key drug trafficking hotspot for Brazilian groups such as the PCC, which along with other criminal actors use the country to distribute cocaine and launder money. Learn more at

Daniel Noboa and Luisa González, the polling favorites in Ecuador’s presidential election this Sunday, have both presented punitive, heavy-handed security plans. But how will they be able to address the structural causes of crime?

🇪🇨 Ecuadorian authorities have discovered a number of Santa Muerte altars in recent months. Worship of the figure is common among drug traffickers, who venerate the saint for protection and to wish death on their enemies. Read more about #SantaMuerte here:

🇻🇪 🇨🇱 | The Venezuelan government used the Tren de Aragua criminal gang to murder a former military official in Chile, witnesses told a Chilean prosecutor. To learn more about Nicolás Maduro’s regime’s complex relationship with criminal groups.

📽️ #Ecuador is facing sky-high homicides and a growing crisis of predatory crimes like extortion. Faced with these threats to security, who will Ecuadorians vote for? InSight Crime sets the scene for Sunday’s elections here.

Mexico and China play important roles in the flow of illicit fentanyl into the United States, but tariffs fail to address the complex, transnational nature of the trade and the role of the US government in attacking it. Read our latest analysis here:

🇸🇻 | An offer by President Nayib Bukele to house prisoners from the United States in El Salvador's prisons seems like an empty promise. High levels of overcrowding and legal obstacles could prove major impediments to Bukele and Trump's plans.

🇧🇷 | Rio de Janeiro’s Public Ministry reactivated a specialized security branch in response to increased criminality in the city, where disputes between local gangs and militias are generating high levels of violence.

🇪🇨 | #Ecuador goes to the polls on Sunday after seeing record levels of violence in January. While presidential candidates have presented some security plans, they have not outlined the details of how they’d implement their policies. Read our analysis.

🇵🇾 🇨🇴 | The murders of prosecutor Marcelo Pecci on a Colombian beach and of a key witness in a high-security prison reflect the growing ability of South American organized crime to operate with precision and without borders. InSight Crime has been following this case closely, read more:

🇨🇷 | A brazen assassination attempt on a top Costa Rican investigator signals increasing confidence among organized crime groups. How did Costa Rica reach this point?

#NewAnalysis | Crime and Religion in Brazil: The Expansion of Rio’s Pure Third Command.

🇬🇹 | The president of Guatemala’s highest court, Néster Vásquez, has been sanctioned for manipulating the selection of top judges. We explore how corrupt networks facilitated his rise.