August 1, 2025
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This week, InSight Crime analyzed ([link removed]) the arrival of Erik Prince, military entrepreneur and founder of Blackwater USA, in Latin America, where he is promoting his companies as solutions to insecurity and organized crime in Ecuador, Haiti, Peru, and El Salvador — offering services ranging from anti-gang consulting to drone strikes and deportation programs.
Also this week, the alleged involvement of Chile’s air force in protecting a drug shipment has sparked ([link removed]) an unprecedented corruption scandal in the country; municipal elections further consolidate ([link removed]) Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s control over territories tied to key criminal economies; Mexico’s national ranchers union calls for ([link removed]) stronger action to halt cattle smuggling from Central America amid fears over the spread of the screwworm parasite; and criminal groups and corrupt officials behind illegal mining deepen ([link removed]) their presence in Venezuela’s Amazonas state despite ongoing military operations.
This and more below.
** Featured
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** Latin America’s Risky Bet on Hired Guns to Fight Crime ([link removed])
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Erik Prince, military entrepreneur and founder of Blackwater USA, is returning to the spotlight – this time in Latin America, where he’s pitching his companies as a solution to insecurity and organized crime.
Private military contractors (PMCs) have long been part of Latin America’s war on drugs, typically under the direction of the United States. But today, regional governments are increasingly turning to foreign contractors directly, especially Prince, for help with urgent security crises.
Read the article here > ([link removed])
See more Security Policy coverage > ([link removed])
** News Analysis
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All News > ([link removed])
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** Screwworm Scare Highlights Ongoing Cattle Trafficking Loopholes in Southern Mexico ([link removed])
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Amid growing concerns over the spread of the screwworm parasite, Mexico’s national ranchers union is calling for tougher actions …
Organized Crime’s Infiltration of Chile’s Security Forces Raises Alarm ([link removed])
Maduro Consolidates Criminal Power in Venezuela Municipal Elections ([link removed])
Anti-Mining ‘Crackdown’ Shifts Ops Elsewhere in Venezuela ([link removed])
** Impact
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What We Do > ([link removed])
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InSight Crime investigator Parker Asmann provided expert analysis to several media outlets in Honduras following the release of our latest investigation, which prompted both environmental authorities and local government officials to respond to the findings. The report highlights the corrupt elite networks operating in the extractives industry in western Honduras and shows how these dynamics have accelerated environmental destruction and placed land activists at risk.
Read our latest investigation here > ([link removed])
** This Week's Criminal Profile: Cartel of the Suns
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Embedded within Venezuela’s military, the Cartel of the Suns refers to a criminal network spanning the army, navy, air force, and National Guard – comprised primarily of high-ranking officers – involved in drug trafficking. These groups maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with certain political actors and big criminal players like the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia — FARC).
This week, the network made headlines after the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the group and its main members by adding them to its list of specially designated nationals, a move that carries significant economic restrictions for those targeted, including president Nicolás Maduro.
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Read our Cartel of the Suns profile > ([link removed])
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Read more Venezuela coverage > ([link removed])
** Power struggles. Prison raids. Secret dealings.
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** Jail breaks. Dramatic arrests.
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📌 Don’t miss our #SummerInSights series, highlighting
the extraordinary stories of Latin America and the Caribbean’s
biggest crime lords, 🗓 launching August 7.
** Multimedia
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July 29, 2025
#NarratedStories #Honduras
"Just before midnight on September 15, 2023, four masked men dressed in all black walked down an alley just north of the main plaza in Santa Rosa de Copán, one of the largest municipalities in western Honduras. From the darkness, one of them stepped into the light of a nearby streetlamp."
Listen to our latest Podcast episode > ([link removed])
** Media Mentions
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About us > ([link removed])
July 29, 2025
Latin America Risk Report ([link removed])
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"I always want to credit InSight Crime, which is an excellent resource for tracking the news about this issue."
Read our Annual Homicide Round-Up > ([link removed])
** Trending: World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2025
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July 30 marked the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. This year’s campaign called attention to the links between human trafficking and organized crime. Across Latin America and the Caribbean, trafficking victims are forced into crimes like online scams and drug trafficking, which often leads to them being criminalized rather than recognized as victims.
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** The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border ([link removed])
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** The Women Ensnared in Tren de Aragua’s Criminal Web in Peru ([link removed])
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Read our Human Trafficking coverage > ([link removed])
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