In our last episode of this season we explore the incredible life of Raúl Mijango, the rebel turned congressman turned gang mediator turned inmate who personified what has since become a lost cause in El Salvador: negotiating with street gangs. And, ironically, may have been one of the first victims of a controversial, hard line strategy that has since led to the incarceration of tens of thousands of Salvadorans.

This was the last episode of our first season of InSight Crime’s Podcast. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

At InSight Crime, we investigate from the ground up, inspired by the idea that organized crime is not a boring multisyllabic expression or yet another true-crime story from the suburbs, but a matter of life and death for millions of people across the Americas.

Judge Ivana David has been working in the Brazil's prison system for 30 years, which gave her a front row seat to the emergence of the PCC.

Its rise startled Brazil and beyond, but it is was not anomaly. In fact, it is part of a region-wide trend where prison-based criminal groups dominate the underworld in the Americas.

More about the PCC and our coverage on prisons and gangs at ⁠insightcrime.org

Abraham Barberi is a walking paradox. He is from Mexico but lives in the United States. He does missionary work but plays guitar in a death metal band. He is a Baptist pastor but advocates for migrants and asylum seekers. This is the story of how he navigates these contradictions in Matamoros, the birthplace of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel and one of the country’s most dangerous cities.

Sociedad Demente, by My place Was Taken.