Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory
Event mapping, criminal actor profiles, and the best of InSight Crime’s content in Venezuela
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November 2024
Smuggling Adapts to Reopening of the Colombia-Venezuela Border
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November 2024
Despite Interventions, Venezuela’s Prison Gangs Thrive
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November 2024
Turkish Broker for Sanction-Busting Venezuelan Oil Arrested
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October 2024
What We Know About Tren de Aragua’s US Presence
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September 2024
Tren de Guayana Gang Expands Into Southern Venezuela Mining Towns
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September 2024
Security Forces in Venezuela Extort Detainees Amid Political Repression
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September 2024
Increased Foreign Presence Around Guyana Is Helping Net More Cocaine
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September 2024
Why Venezuela’s Repression of Tren del Llano Could Feed Anti-Regime Protests
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September 2024
A 3-Ton Cocaine Seizure in Venezuela Highlights Asia Trafficking Routes
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August 2024
After Venezuela Elections, Criminal Groups Work For or Against the Regime
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July 2024
Predictions for Venezuela’s Post-Election Criminal Landscape
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July 2024
How Maduro’s Criminal Regime Is Tilting the Venezuela Elections
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July 2024
Is Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua Behind Surge in Chile Kidnappings?
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July 2024
US Labels Tren de Aragua a Transnational Criminal Threat
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July 2024
Venezuela Businesses Increasingly Need Dollars. Loansharks Are Taking Advantage.
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July 2024
Tren de Aragua Just Sustained Its Biggest Leadership Blow
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June 2024
Tren de Aragua Factions Persist Despite Venezuela’s Crackdown
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June 2024
Venezuela’s Prisons Remain Out of Control Despite Government Measures
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May 2024
Why is Venezuela’s Crime Rate Falling?
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May 2024
Chile Court Bomb Threats Highlight Tren de Aragua’s War on the State
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May 2024
Illegal Mining Grows in Southern Venezuela, as Brazil Tightens Grip
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May 2024
Venezuelan Women at Risk From Expanding Trafficking Rings
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May 2024
What Cliver Alcalá’s Sentencing Means for Venezuela’s Cartel of the Suns
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April 2024
Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua: A Phantom or a Reality?
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April 2024
In Zulia, Venezuela, Not Even Schools Escape Extortion
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April 2024
Is Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua ‘Invading’ the US?
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March 2024
How Venezuela’s Prison System Fueled a Reggaeton Star’s Career
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March 2024
Financial Vulnerability Fuels Predatory Crime in Peru
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March 2024
Authorities in Colombia Expose Tren de Aragua’s Involvement in Drug Trafficking
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March 2024
High-Profile Chile Murder Shows Tren de Aragua’s Sophistication
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March 2024
Carlos Capa, Defiant Criminal Boss, Killed in Venezuela
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February 2024
With Venezuelan Criminal Groups Strengthening, Violence in Cúcuta Rises
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February 2024
Back-to-Back Scandals Lift Lid on Venezuela’s Judicial Corruption
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February 2024
ELN, Ex-FARC Mafia Drive Rising Cocaine Production in Zulia, Venezuela
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January 2024
Venezuela 2024: Elections and Criminal Consolidation
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January 2024
New Elections, Old Strategies: Repression in Venezuela
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January 2024
Smuggled Migrants Face Deadly Waters in San Andrés, Colombia
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January 2024
Colombia Struggles to Tackle Prison-Based Extortion
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January 2024
3 Takeaways From Transparencia Venezuela’s Illicit Economies Index
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January 2024
GameChangers 2023: Top 5 Criminal Newsmakers
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December 2023
Venezuelan Officials Key in Convicted Drug Trafficker’s Network
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November 2023
Counterfeit Medicine Another Symptom of Venezuela’s Health Crisis
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November 2023
Venezuelan Gang Leaves Trail of Dead in Roraima, Brazil
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November 2023
Official Uniforms Flood Venezuela’s Black Markets
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November 2023
Is the ‘Pran’ System in Venezuela’s Prisons Finished?
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November 2023
Venezuelan Extortion Gangs Spark Violent Backlash in Peru
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October 2023
Venezuela Security Policy: Combating Gang and Police-Driven Extortion
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October 2023
Venezuela’s Most Wanted List Notable for Its Absences
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October 2023
How Counterfeit Dollars Have Overrun Venezuela
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October 2023
What Does Capture of ‘Yiyi’ Mean for Other Venezuelan Crime Bosses Abroad?
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October 2023
Dutch Caribbean Remains a High-Risk Route for Venezuelan Migrants
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September 2023
Has Venezuela Prison Raid Smashed Tren de Aragua?
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September 2023
Venezuelan Military ‘Invades’ Notorious Prison
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September 2023
Grenades Becoming Trademark of Venezuelan Extortion Gangs in Peru
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September 2023
Venezuela Could Be Supplying Colombia’s Cocaine Labs With Scarce Precursor
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September 2023
Venezuelan Extortion Gangs Exploiting Instagram to Amplify Threats
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August 2023
Venezuela’s Armed Non-State Actors Bolster Maduro in Election Lead-Up
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August 2023
Is Evacuation of 8,600 Venezuelan Miners Just Another Smokescreen?
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August 2023
Venezuela's Reliance on Contraband Food Risks Industry Collapse
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August 2023
Corrupt Officials Key to Trafficking Networks in Venezuela
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August 2023
The Shattered Mafia Behind Criminal Chaos in Zulia, Venezuela
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July 2023
Criminal Groups Ally With State Forces for Cattle Theft in Venezuela
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July 2023
Monagas: The Missing Link for Venezuela Drug Traffickers
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July 2023
Venezuela Security Policy: Armed Groups and Electoral Interference
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July 2023
In Venezuela, Contraband Networks Supply Rampant Wildcat Mining
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July 2023
Venezuela Security Policy: Illegal Mining and Deforestation
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July 2023
Venezuela Security Policy: The Criminal Exploitation of the Migrant Crisis
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June 2023
Theft and Corruption Hinder Venezuela's Oil Industry
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June 2023
The Tancol: Venezuela’s Phantom Enemy
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June 2023
How Grenades Became a Common Part of Venezuela's Criminal Arsenal
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May 2023
La Pista: Venezuelans Find Refuge in Colombian Desert
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May 2023
How Scrap Metal Became a Criminal Enterprise in Venezuela
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May 2023
Venezuela's New Asset Forfeiture Law Unlikely to End Corruption
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May 2023
Colombia, Venezuela Security Partnership Puts Pressure on ELN
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April 2023
In Lara, Venezuela, Criminal 'Colectivos' Control Public Services
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April 2023
Inside the Evaporating Black Market for Gasoline in Zulia, Venezuela
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March 2023
How Risks Facing Migrants in Latin America Have Multiplied
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March 2023
Venezuela Becomes Colombia's 'Creepy' Marijuana Drug Corridor
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March 2023
Venezuela Kills Gang Leader Whose Political Connections Were 'Open Secret'
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March 2023
Venezuela Oil Minister Resigns Amid Political Fight With Criminal Ramifications
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March 2023
Venezuela's Maduro Is Key to Colombia’s 'Total Peace'
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March 2023
Brutal but Futile: Venezuela's Anti-Gang 'Mega-Operations'
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February 2023
Venezuelan Migrants Remain Easy Prey for Organized Crime
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February 2023
Doubts Remain Over Venezuela’s Efforts to Stop Illegal Mining
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February 2023
Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 for 2023
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February 2023
Violence Against Women Regular Tactic for Venezuela Criminal Groups
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January 2023
Venezuela's Police Reform Unlikely to Halt Corrupt Ties to Organized Crime
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December 2022
GameChangers 2022: Maduro Seeks to Be Venezuela’s Criminal Kingmaker
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December 2022
Venezuela's Opaque Drug-Seizure Figures Don't Add Up
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December 2022
Why Venezuela's Army Faces Uphill Battle to Quell Colombia Border
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December 2022
How Peru Is Tackling the Danger of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua
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August 2022
The Bosses Who Run Venezuela's Most Lawless Prisons
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July 2022
How Tren de Aragua Controls the Destiny of Migrants from Venezuela to Chile
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May 2022
Ransomware Built in Venezuela Used to Target Institutions Across Latin America
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April 2022
How Venezuelan Gangs Masquerade as Community Organizers to Secure Territory
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April 2022
A Cultural Occupation: The Guerrillas and the Indigenous in Venezuela's Amazon
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March 2022
Honor Among Thieves - The Venezuela Manhunt for an Altruistic Mob Boss
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March 2022
Is This the End for Venezuela’s Megagangs?
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February 2022
Murders Soar as Venezuela Police Hunt for Wilexis Yet Again
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February 2022
Are Arrests of Venezuela Officials Simply For Show?
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January 2022
How Criminals Take Advantage of Venezuela's Food Aid System
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January 2022
Why did Venezuela's Peace Zones Backfire So Badly?
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January 2022
Ex-FARC Mafia vs. ELN: a Fight Too Far at Colombia-Venezuela Border?
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December 2021
A Seat at the Table: What New Governors in Venezuela Mean for Organized Crime
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October 2021
Indictment of Saab Partners Details Vast Venezuela Aid Kickback Scheme
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October 2021
The Coast of Sucre - Venezuela's Most Dangerous Place for Piracy
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October 2021
How Many Colombian Fighters are Really Inside Venezuela?
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