Smuggling migrants into the United States is now more profitable than smuggling drugs, according to a representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The pull of profits has attracted criminal groups, making the journey north increasingly dangerous for illegal migrants, but InSight is very skeptical of this assertion.
In stark contrast to recent stories about Mexican drug lords enjoying luxury lifestyles in their prison cells, the family of imprisoned capo Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, alias ‘El Padrino,’ have written an open letter complaining that the 67-year-old is being held in inhumane conditions.
Reactions to recent reports that United States drones are now flying over Mexican territory were mixed this week, as Mexican lawmakers try to determine exactly how much U.S. presence they want inside their country.
Initial reports said that the drones began flying over Mexico in February, although a later report from the Associated Press said the practice had started in 2009.
Colombia will hold elections for mayors, governors, state assemblies and city councilors in October. The approach of the local elections raises the perennial threat that the results could be influenced by the large and powerful criminal groups, known as the BACRIMs, which operate throughout the country.
Colombia officials announced a joint international effort with U.S. officials intending to locate three middlemen allegedly working for Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin Guzman Loera, alias ‘El Chapo,’ in Colombia. The statement follows allegations by Colombia's chief of police that the Sinaloa Cartel is now working alongside the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) in the illegal exploitation of coltan, a highly prized mineral used in the electronics industry.
The Guatemalan Public Ministry and the National Police say they have identified five major leaders of the Barrio 18 (M-18) gang currently held at the maximum security prison, and who are responsible for extorting people throughout the country from their cells.
The announcement comes on the heels of accusations that one of the jailed leaders of the M-18 faction, known as “Little Sayco Criminal,” had planned and executed the bombing of a bus last month, which killed seven civilians.
This month’s attack on the head of the Honduran prison system has raised the important question: Does the government have any control over its penitentiaries?
The recent arrests of three Argentines in Spain highlight the increasing use of this country as a trampoline to send drugs to Europe. The use of Argentina as a drug transhipment point also seems to have led to increased corruption and more local drug consumption.
Bolivian police suspect that former members of the Norte Del Valle Cartel have infiltrated their borders, following the dismantling of the Colombian organization in 2010.
InSight has learned that the unidentified gunmen, responsible for killing one and wounding another U.S. agent in northern Mexico on Tuesday, may not have known the identities of their victims. According to sources consulted by InSight, the agents were detained while traveling on Highway 57, which connects San Luis Potosi to Mexico City. It is unclear whether the pair were stopped at a roadblock or forced off the road. The agents then rolled down the car window, reinforcing the theory that the assailants may have been wearing military garb, perhaps confusing the agents or causing them to believe this was a military roadblock. A perpetrator then stuck an AK-47 in the window, shooting one agent in the leg and another in the chest.
