🇪🇨 🇨🇴 | The trade war between Ecuador and Colombia is the latest in a long list of diplomatic tensions that have affected Gustavo Petro’s government. Meanwhile, organized crime could benefit from the deterioration in cooperation between the two countries. Read more: https://bit.ly/4k6iYCD

🇨🇴 | Former paramilitary leader and now peace negotiator Salvatore Mancuso received a 40-year prison sentence for crimes committed against Indigenous communities in northern Colombia. Learn more about his criminal career:: https://bit.ly/3vj1sXa

🇻🇪 | Four men were arrested in Miranda with more than 10,000 rounds of 7.62×39 mm ammunition, which is produced in Venezuela. Learn more about arms trafficking dynamics at the Venezuela Observatory: https://bit.ly/4q5Tx5H

🇨🇴 🇻🇪 | Facing military pressure in Colombia, the ELN has increasingly expanded in Zulia, Venezuela, where it acts as a de facto authority. How has it gained so much power in Venezuela? Read our investigation to find out: https://bit.ly/3Mn2J7D

The families of two men from Trinidad and Tobago who were killed in a US strike on a boat supposedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean are suing the US government. How have these strikes unfolded since they began in September 2025? https://bit.ly/4oxipDs

🇪🇸 | The Spanish National Police announced the seizure of 10.4 tons of cocaine and the arrest of 105 people allegedly responsible for trafficking 57 tons of cocaine over the past year. Find out more about Spain’s role in drug trafficking routes to Europe: https://bit.ly/4e7V3y7

🇻🇪 🇨🇴 | Tren de Aragua entered Colombia through Norte de Santander, where its cells have managed to corrupt security forces and gain influence in prisons. Learn how the gang evolved across the rest of the country: https://bit.ly/4qw93J9

🟡 Gold prices are hitting record highs, but to meet demand, Latin American mining communities pay a price in blood. For tales from the forgotten corners of the global supply chain, listen to our investigative podcast, the Shadow of El Dorado: bit.ly/49R0LFL

🇪🇨 🇨🇴 | Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced 30% tariffs on imports from Colombia, claiming that the neighboring country is not doing enough to combat organized crime. Read how this trade war could backfire: https://bit.ly/4k6iYCD

🇭🇳 | Authorities in Honduras have announced the end of a years-long state of emergency. Find out more about why these anti-crime strategies tend to have mixed results and fail to improve security in the long run. https://bit.ly/3NsonVh

👉 AI has exploded: while it features throughout our everyday lives, organized crime has weaponized it to enhance their criminal schemes. Read our latest to see the five areas we are most closely monitoring: https://bit.ly/4k6eJY2

👉 The ELN has consolidated its control over much of the border between Venezuela and Colombia, and is profiting from the enormous quantity of cocaine passing across. Read our investigation: https://bit.ly/4oMgrhE

🇬🇾 | Azruddin Mohamed, the new opposition leader in the Guyanese parliament, faces extradition proceedings in the US for money laundering related to gold exports. Read more about the criminal dynamics of gold in Guyana: https://bit.ly/4iVcwNa

🇨🇴 | The latest changes to Venezuela’s cabinet left out Colombian Álex Saab, one of Nicolás Maduro’s favored businessmen. Learn how he went from being imprisoned in the United States to becoming a minister in Caracas.

🇪🇨 | After Wilmer Chavarría’s arrest in Spain, the leader of Ecuador’s Lobos known as “Pipo” will be extradited to the US instead of his home country as Ecuador looks to further ties with the Trump administration. Lear more about Pipo: https://bit.ly/4t1FX5R

🇻🇪 🇨🇴 | Amid political readjustments following Maduro’s departure from Venezuela, guerrilla groups such as the ELN and FARC dissidents are evaluating whether to stay or leave the country. What is the most beneficial scenario for these groups? Read our latest analysis:: https://bit.ly/4pRPsSs

⚠️¿Cómo opera hoy el crimen organizado en #Centroamérica? Con @stevendudley, cofundador y director de investigación de @insightcrime.org analizaremos en #CiclosCAP las estructuras criminales que moldean la violencia, la corrupción y la política en la región.

🇧🇷 | Brazil’s PCC gang allegedly infiltrated São Paulo’s transport system, getting municipal contracts through a bus company. The local government had to sign an emergency contract to try to sever criminal ties. Read our analysis: https://bit.ly/4d05Gno

🇨🇴 🇻🇪 | Colombia’s Catatumbo region, with its extensive coca crops, cocaine laboratories, and clandestine airstrips, is essential to the ELN. The revenue it generates could sustain the group’s operations for years. Read more: https://bit.ly/3Mn2J7D

🇬🇾 | The Guyanese Parliament elected businessman Azruddin Mohamed as leader of the opposition, despite the fact that he is facing an extradition request from the United States on charges of gold smuggling and money laundering. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4nsatmF

📍 As AI becomes more accessible and effective, both old school and new school criminal organizations are using technology to advance their criminal interests. In today’s criminal thread, we analyze five AI trends we are monitoring in 2026 🧵

🇺🇸 | The US launched a strike on another boat allegedly carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific on January 23, killing two and leaving one initial survivor. How has this lethal campaign unfolded? Find out here. https://bit.ly/4oxipDs

Authorities seized a submersible with several tons of cocaine off the coast of Portugal. These bespoke vehicles – once limited to shorter trips – are increasingly making longer treks to Europe. Read more in our analysis: https://bit.ly/4lc6WIb

🇻🇪 | The conversations that, according to reports, the US government has held for months with Diosdado Cabello—the second most powerful figure in Venezuela’s regime—highlight his potential destabilizing role. Read about his criminal activities here.

🇪🇨 | Ecuador announced it would begin targeting suspected drug boats off its coast as the country increasingly adopts security policies similar to the US. Ecuador continues to struggle to rein in gang violence. Read our analysis: https://bit.ly/4rryE6T

🇭🇳 | An independent group of experts concluded that a criminal network diverted 67% of the more than $18.5 million provided by development banks for a dam project in Honduras to pay for illegal surveillance, armed incursions, and the murder of Berta Cáceres: https://bit.ly/4sJiUNl

🇻🇪 | Authorities in Venezuela seized 6.8 tons of marijuana in the Orinoco River. What does this record-breaking haul reveal about drug trafficking routes in the country? Read more at the Venezuela Observatory: https://bit.ly/4belAw2

🇻🇪 | What is the Tren de Aragua today? The Venezuelan criminal gang has been described both as a terrorist organization and as a "media fiction." InSight Crime explores the facts and the myths around the gang. Read more in our investigation.

🇻🇪 🇨🇴 | The US expects Delcy Rodríguez’s government to show concrete results against guerrilla groups linked to drug trafficking in Venezuela. Will Chavismo be willing to sacrifice old relationships for new commitments to Washington? Read more here: https://bit.ly/4pRPsSs

🇻🇪 | Where is the Tren de Aragua? InSight Crime investigated the Venezuelan gang for three years, tracking its expansion to seven countries. Learn more about its presence in Colombia, Peru, Chile, and the United States: https://bit.ly/3HVGDXT

#NewAnalysis | Organized Crime and AI: 5 Topics We Are Monitoring in 2026.

🇭🇳 | A new report found the murder of renowned Indigenous activist and environmental defender Berta Cáceres in Honduras in 2016 was an organized criminal operation funded by money from two international development banks that was diverted from a dam project: https://bit.ly/4sJiUNl

🇨🇴 🇻🇪 | The ELN has established itself in the Venezuelan states bordering Colombia, where it engages in lucrative crimes. In Zulia, its advance was particularly successful, giving the ELN access to Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. Read more: https://bit.ly/3Mn2J7D

🇨🇴 | Relations between Colombia and the United Nations are going through a difficult moment. Gustavo Petro announced that he will stop using its methodology to measure potential cocaine production. Learn more about the dynamics of drug trafficking in Colombia: https://bit.ly/4jW56uT

🇻🇪 | In April 2022, security forces rampaged through the Venezuelan state of Guarico during Operation Trueno. Explore InSight Crime's collaboration with @DefiendeVE depicting the trail of abuse they left in their wake in this graphic series. https://bit.ly/3Wgvtl1

🇵🇪 | Sex workers in Lima have mobilized to demand a life free of violence. They are victims of extortion and all kinds of violence at the hands of factions of the Tren de Aragua. Learn more in our investigation: https://bit.ly/3FxtjHF

🇻🇪 🇨🇴 | Nicolás Maduro’s arrest has altered the political and criminal balance in Venezuela, leaving groups such as the ELN at a crossroads: retreat to Colombia or adjust to the new landscape? Read more in our latest analysis: https://bit.ly/4pRPsSs

🇲🇽 | Mexico’s lime, avocado, and orange plantations have long been targeted by criminal groups looking to take a cut of profits. Why is this industry so attractive to crime groups, and what can authorities do to stop extortion?: https://bit.ly/4pVhQDs

🇻🇪 | There is no evidence that Tren de Aragua operations abroad are directed by a central leadership. Although two of its founders remain free, are they really coordinating the gangs outside Venezuela? Learn more: https://bit.ly/3K2EVEU

🇨🇴 | The Colombian government will stop using the UN-designed figures for potential cocaine production amid tensions over coca crop and cocaine production estimates in the country. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4sVfWFh

👉 Today, Tren de Aragua has taken on different forms: some cells operate with greater autonomy and less cooperation, while imitator gangs with no ties to the gang continue to grow. Learn more in our investigation: https://bit.ly/3K2EVEU

🇨🇴 🇻🇪 | Facing military pressure in Colombia, the ELN has increasingly expanded in Zulia, Venezuela, where it acts as a de facto authority. How has it gained so much power in Venezuela? Read our investigation to find out: https://bit.ly/3Mn2J7D

🇧🇷 | Crypto use in Brazil’s underworld has reached a massive scale, with authorities freezing millions over the past year. But as crypto becomes increasingly in the criminal mainstream, law enforcement is lagging behind. Read our GameChanger for more: https://bit.ly/45t7ovn

🇵🇪 | Following the closure of the Las Cucardas brothel, sex workers in Lima have mobilized to demand its reopening, which is also a call to respect their rights. Learn more about the difficult situation faced by sex workers here: https://bit.ly/3FxtjHF

🇨🇴 | President Gustavo Petro announced that the government will stop using the UN’s indicator for potential cocaine production, which he blames for Colombia’s decertification by the United States in the fight against drug trafficking.

🇪🇨 | Diosdado Cabello, the Venezuelan minister accused of drug trafficking and for whom the United States is offering a multimillion-dollar reward, is emerging as one of the key officials in the new government in Caracas. Read more in his profile: https://bit.ly/409RceT

🇬🇹 | Guatemala’s state of emergency expands security forces’ powers in response to gang-linked prison violence. The move highlights the challenges President Arévalo faces in confronting corruption and entrenched prison networks. Read our analysis: https://bit.ly/4onQJk4

🇲🇽 | Criminal groups are extorting and murdering orange growers in Mexico’s Veracruz province. Farmers around the country have historically faced similar problems, most notably avocado growers in the state of Michoacán. Read more here: https://bit.ly/4pVhQDs

🇨🇴 | The ELN maintains its main criminal stronghold in Arauca, in eastern Colombia. There it imposes its own rules, mediates disputes, and regulates both legal and illegal economies. Learn more in our latest investigation. https://bit.ly/3N8VCQn

#NewAnalysis | Will Colombian Guerrillas Lose Their Safe Haven in Post‑Maduro Venezuela?