We are thrilled to announce InSight Crime will be honored with a special citation by the Maria Moors Cabot Prize jury for outstanding reporting on the Americas.

The prestigious recognition given by the Columbia Journalism School honors journalists and news organizations for career excellence and coverage of the Western Hemisphere that furthers inter-American understanding. We are honored to be among its many illustrious recipients.

Read the full announcement here.

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On July 2, InSight Crime investigator Victoria Dittmar moderated a roundtable on electoral violence in Mexico hosted by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). 

The conference, which took place in Mexico City in collaboration with various non-governmental organizations, analyzed the historic wave of political violence that marked Mexico’s presidential election last month and evaluated its significance for the future of democracy in the country.  

Read more >

Watch the conference >

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InSight Crime was cited in the US government’s sentencing submission against Juan Orlando Hernández. The cited investigation, Murder, Corruption, and Drugs: The Ledgers That Could Sink Honduras’ Ex-President, tells the story of how drug ledgers became key pieces of evidence in the trial of the former Honduran president. 

InSight Crime has provided authoritative coverage of Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted of trafficking cocaine while in office and sentenced to 45 years in prison by a US court on Wednesday. 

Read the investigation >

Read our Juan Orlando Hernández profile >

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In an interview with Diálogo Político, InSight Crime co-founder Steven Dudley and investigator Lara Loaiza provided an in-depth panorama of organized crime in Latin America. 

The interview analyzed the evolution of criminal groups and industries in the region, examined the spike in violence in Ecuador, evaluated the effectiveness of the United States’ so-called war on drugs, and discussed President Nayib Bukele’s model for fighting crime in El Salvador. 

Read the interview > 

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InSight Crime’s expertise on the cocaine trade continues to enrich discussions on the industry throughout global media. The Guardian utilized InSight Crime’s investigation, The Cocaine Pipeline to Europe, to depict cocaine trafficking routes to Europe, while the BBC enlisted the expertise of InSight Crime’s Sergio Saffon to outline the volatile relationship between cocaine’s ever-growing global demand and the local dynamics of coca leaf production in Latin America. 

Read the investigation>

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In an interview with Atlas, the YouTube channel of German public broadcaster ARD, InSight Crime’s Douwe den Held outlined the strategic importance of Suriname as a launching point for drug trafficking from Latin America to Europe. Den Held highlighted how the country’s geography, along with political corruption, has made Suriname an attractive transit location for organized criminal groups looking to move drugs to Europe. 

Watch the video >

See more coverage from Suriname >

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This week, InSight Crime’s Alicia Flórez and Lara Loaiza partnered with the Latin American feminist journalism platform Volcánicas, writing an article called, “After Femicides: The Women Endlessly Persecuted in Tibú, Colombia.” The article builds on Alicia and Lara’s previous InSight Crime investigation, The Informants of Tibú: How the Colombian State Unleashed a Wave of Femicides. 

The article highlights the enduring threat of violence for women caught in the crosshairs of legal and illegal armed groups in Tibú, a municipality in Norte de Santander, Colombia.

Read the Volcánicas article >
Read the Tibú investigation >

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This week, InSight Crime and Universidad Iberoamericana hosted a conference on synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals in Mexico City. The event brought together investigators, experts, and policymakers to explore the precursor chemical supply chain, fentanyl’s impact on organized crime and the effects of synthetic drugs on society and the environment in Mexico and beyond.

InSight Crime continues to offer authoritative coverage of all angles of the continued boom in synthetic drugs. The latest chapter of our 11-part investigation into synthetic drugs in Mexico outlined the methods used by criminal groups to finance precursor chemicals and launder money while successfully evading the scrutiny of Mexico’s financial authorities. 

Watch the Event > 
Read our Synthetic Drugs Report >

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InSight Crime reporters traveled to Barcelona, Spain, to collect the prestigious Ortega and Gasset prize for our investigation, The Moskitia: The Honduran Jungle Drowning in Cocaine.

Written by Juan Martínez d’Aubuisson and Bryan Avelar, the Moskitia investigation chronicles how drug trafficking destroys the rainforest and threatens indigenous communities on Honduras’ remote northern coast. At the ceremony, Martínez d’Aubuisson and Avelar were presented with the award for “best story or journalistic investigation.”

In his acceptance speech, Martínez d’Aubuisson spoke of his commitment to investigating how transnational crime impacts the lives of powerless populations.

“This is precisely the kind of journalism I have bet my life on,” he said. “And it is the only one I want to continue doing.”

He also thanked Moskitia’s indigenous communities for educating him and guiding him through the remote jungle.

Read the investigation >
See more coverage from Honduras >

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This week, data from one of InSight Crime’s flagship products, the 2023 Cocaine Seizure Round-Up, was featured in a data article by The Washington Post. The Post’s article analyzed the alarming rise of Ecuador’s drug gangs using InSight Crime data. “An analysis by InSight Crime of the top five cocaine seizures in Europe in 2023 found that three of the routes from South America were by ship from Ecuador,” the Post reported. 

Authorities seized over 195 tons of cocaine in Ecuador in 2023 alone, a quantity that has spiked in tandem with the country’s homicide rate. InSight Crime’s regional network of journalists work daily to monitor key events, conduct investigations, and create dependable databases that drive authoritative coverage of organized crime in the Americas.

See The Post’s Article >
Read the 2023 Cocaine Seizure Round-Up >

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This week, InSight Crime’s Co-Founder, Jeremy McDermott spoke to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle to highlight Europe’s growing role in the cocaine trade. InSight Crime’s global network of analysts allows the organization to offer leading analysis of illicit markets and criminal groups. 

The quantities of cocaine shipped to Europe are booming. Last year, authorities in Belgium seized 116 tons of cocaine at the Port of Antwerp alone. What’s more, wholesale cocaine prices in Europe can reach $40,000 per kilogram, almost double the prices traffickers can fetch in the United States. 

“The most lucrative chain is the moving of cocaine from Latin America to Europe,” said McDermott. “This is where the big money is. This is where everyone wants to get involved.”

Read the 2023 Cocaine Seizure Round-Up >
Read our European cocaine investigation >

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