France is doubling down on its promises to get more involved in fighting organized crime in Latin America. Plans announced for a regional academy in the Dominican Republic, months after revealing a new high-security prison project in French Guiana:
www.barrons.com/news/french-...

In this week's @insightcrime.org newsletter, I discuss the recent deadly anti-gang raid in Rio and how Washington’s “terrorist” framing of Latin America’s criminal groups may give cover to this type of aggressive operations. Read more (and sign up!) 👉

The Trump administration told Congress there's currently no legal basis for military action inside Venezuela, CNN reports. It's the clearest signal yet that the US may be backpedaling from the aggressive posture of the last several weeks. www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/p...

Costa Rica just launched a huge operation to take down the "South Caribbean Cartel." It adds to a string of developments this year that clearly show Costa Rica can no longer be considered relatively crime-free compared to its neighbors. ticotimes.net/2025/11/04/c...

The idea of declaring crime groups as "terrorists" is spreading throughout Latin America. The label blurs two distinct phenomena, but it's nevertheless being used to justify extreme, often deadly measures, despite no evidence that such policies deliver lasting security gains.

The legendary Honduran drug trafficker Juan Ramon Matta Ballesteros has died in US federal prison. I talked with
@samwoolston.bsky.social about his life an legacy:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHHv...