Alejandra Freire: ‘Drug trafficking could not thrive without effective money laundering systems in place’
Money laundering, a key element of drug trafficking, often goes unnoticed, as does the role played by women in these operations. Alejandra Freire Explains.
Sabrina Calandrón: ‘For every registered arm there are at least two or three that are not registered’
Arms trafficking powers all illegal markets in Latin America. Sabrina Calandrón analyses the effectiveness of policies to tackle it.
Karla Salazar Sánchez: ‘We must work to prevent women from ending up in prison and help them once they get out’
The director of FLACSO Costa Rica, Karla Salazar Sánchez, reflects on why women commit crimes and how the prison system fails them.
Carolina Sampó: ‘Society finds it hard to believe that a woman can lead a criminal organisation’
The analysis of the role of women in criminal organisations is permeated by stereotypes. Researcher Carolina Sampó reflects on how these impact on the way in which governments develop their approaches.
Douglas Farah: ‘Latin America is headed for a very difficult period’
Investigative journalist Douglas Farah reflects on the evolution of crime, violence and the potential future scenarios in Latin America.
Violence in Chile exposes new crime dynamics
A series of murders and wave of attacks on health workers in Santiago de Chile have exposed new criminal dynamics with potentially long-term consequences. Pablo Zeballos analyses them.
Mexico’s Jalisco Cartel New Generation is Unique. This is Why.
The Jalisco Cartel New Generation is one of the most violent crime groups in Mexico, and the world. But this was not always the case. In the first of a three-part series, author Chris Dalby explores how a family of rich avocado farmers transformed into a brutal criminal syndicate.
Camila Grigera Naón: ‘Women are a “blind spot” for the Argentinean justice system’
A new report revealed the problems behind the implementation of judicial reform to address drug trafficking cases in Argentina.
Rosana Gambacorta: They are not ‘narcos’, they are cold and hungry
For 30 years, Rosana Gambacorta has been defending vulnerable youth with a few grams of drugs in Rosario, Argentina. She says prison exacerbates the problem.
Gender-based violence weighs more than three kilos of marijuana and cocaine
Camila Medrano was arrested for living in a house where illicit drugs were sold. After proving that she had survived extreme violence, she was acquitted.
John Walsh: ‘The fentanyl crisis encapsulates the horrors of the prohibition regime’
As illicit drug use and the some of the risks associated with it rise around the world, alternative approaches to public policy, including those that focus on harm reduction rather than criminalisation, are gaining momentum. We spoke to John Walsh about what this means and what might come next.
‘Not prisoners but students’: Inside Argentina’s in-prison universities
Waldemar Curia spent more than a decade in prison but his passion for learning motivated him to help develop a university programme behind bars and a library in his community. He now argues that education is an effective security strategy against increased proposals for more tough on crime approaches. This is his story.
