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Mexico Justice Department Flags Growing Mara Presence
An easing of tension among the largest Mexican criminal groups has been counteracted by the growing influx of Central America's most notorious gangs, a development that, if continued, could challenge...
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Reality Check: What Kind of Violence Kills Mexicans?
In an unsolicited response to what is a typical portrayal of violence in Mexico, Mexican security researcher, analyst and professor Carlos Vilalta breaks down the principal cause of death in his...
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Organized Crime in the Americas: What to Expect in 2014
We can already identify some of the trends that are likely to mark the evolution of organized crime in 2014. One is the issue of criminal migration, as organized crime in Mexico and Colombia, under...
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CIA v. Colombia's 'Elite Command': Battle from the Ground Up
A recent article in the Washington Post about the CIA’s participation in the precision bombing of FARC guerrilla leaders undermined some aspects of Colombia’s new narrative about the prowess of its...
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Discrepancy Between Venezuela Murder Rates, Among the World’s Highest
While the Venezuela government, notorious for its manipulation of statistics, claimed that the homicide rate dropped in 2013, to 39 per 100,000 of the population, a rather more reliable NGO puts the...
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Mexico Vigilante Boom Set to Continue
Mexico's citizen self-defense or vigilante groups have made major shows of strength as the year has begun, indicating that last year's surge of power and growth may increase during 2014. In Guerrero,...
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Half of Weapons Missing from Cali Armoury as Count Gets Underway
An arms inspection at a military barracks in Cali, Colombia, has found 500 weapons missing out of 1,000 counted, with another 15,000 still to be checked, as a major investigation into weapons...
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Peru Sets Record Coca Eradication Target for 2014
The Peruvian government has set a target of 30,000 hectares of coca crops to be eradicated in 2014, a more than 30 percent increase on the record eradication registered in 2013, perhaps hoping to lose...
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Huge Profits on Offer in El Salvador Prison Economy
An intelligence investigation has revealed the pricing structure for goods within El Salvador's jails, which are now not only finishing schools for criminals but sources of income for organized crime...
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Where Are the Women in the El Salvador Gang Truce?
The tenuous "gang truce" in El Salvador, in place since March 2012, does not fit into a classic model of peace negotiations between armed groups. Even so, any negotiation involving armed groups to try...
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Charges Against Peru Ex-President Highlight High-Level Corruption
Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo stands accused of money laundering and conspiracy, the third Peruvian president in recent history to be implicated in criminal activity in a country where...
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Brazil Criminals 'Establishing Permanent Presence' in Paraguay
A prominent clergyman in Paraguay has called attention to the establishment of permanent bases in the country by Brazilian criminals, with recently announced record drug seizures one indication of what...
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Why DEA Meetings With Mexico Cartels Are No Cause For Alarm
A newspaper in Mexico has revealed US officials met with members of Mexican cartels throughout the past decade, a little reported but common tactic as authorities seek to identify and isolate targets...
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Peru Drug Routes Illustrate Land Trafficking Patterns
Officials in Peru have identified four land and water routes used to traffic cocaine to Bolivia and one used to move drugs to Brazil, showing that though drug flights are the most popular method of...
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Beauty Queen Murder Pressures Venezuela Govt to Act on Insecurity
The murder of the 2004 Miss Venezuela winner has sparked a wave of concern over the country's security situation, forcing the government to confront a major issue it has previously tried to downplay....
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Record Year for Colombia Marijuana Interdiction But Cocaine Seizures Dive
Marijuana seizure rates in Colombia reached their highest levels for 20 years in 2013 while cocaine seizures plummeted by 70 percent compared to the previous year, illustrating evolutions in Colombian...
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Brazil Prison Murders Highlight Rising Violence in Northern States
A video showing the decapitated bodies of three prisoners in a jail in northeastern Brazil paints a gruesome picture of the country's out-of-control prisons and draws attention to how crime and...
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5 Predictions for Mexico Security in 2014
Security analyst Alejandro Hope gives his thoughts about what Mexico's security situation will look like in 2014. Overall, the outlook is none too promising. As Yogi Berra said (or maybe Niels Bohr),...
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Are Mexico Community Police Linked to Guerrillas?
Leaders of self-defense groups in Guerrero, Mexico have denied they are linked to guerrilla organizations, as government intelligence reports fuel fears the vigilante movement could be co-opted by...
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Bolivia Uses G77 Post to Put Coca Legalization on International Agenda
As Bolivia assumed the presidency of the United Nations Group of 77 (G-77), President Evo Morales used this opportunity to push his pro-coca agenda, likely hoping to capitalize on the international...
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