elites and organized crime

Weekly InSight: Latin America’s Odebrecht Scandal Just Keeps Growing

In our March 29 Facebook Live session, Managing Editor Josefina Salomón and Senior Editor Mike LaSusa discussed recent developments in a seemingly never-ending international corruption scandal involving Brazil construction giant Odebrecht…

Read this piece in its entirety at InSight Crime. Watch the full videos below:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Weekly InSight: Organized Crime Influence in Upcoming El Salvador Election

In our February 22 Facebook Live session, Senior Investigator Héctor Silva Ávalos and Senior Editor Mike LaSusa discussed the criminal infiltration of El Salvador’s politics ahead of legislative and municipal elections scheduled for March 4…

Read this piece in its entirety at InSight Crime. Watch the full video below:

Political Manipulation Could Taint Selection of Guatemala’s Next Attorney General

A process to select members of a commission that will help choose Guatemala’s next attorney general is about to begin. But recent reports and past history suggest powerful elites have already been maneuvering to shape the commission’s composition and recommendations in an effort to thwart a years-long anti-graft drive by the top prosecutor’s office…

This piece was co-authored with Tristan Clavel, with assistance from Josefina Salomón. Read it in its entirety at InSight Crime.

Talking about Colombia Coca Production on InSight Crime’s “Weekly InSight”

I joined Senior Investigators Deborah Bonello and Héctor Silva Ávalos for InSight Crime’s weekly Facebook Live session today, where we discussed new White House estimates of coca production in Colombia, the future of the Sinaloa Cartel after “El Chapo,” and the close ties between elites and organized crime in Latin America. You can watch the full video at this link, or embedded below: