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Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
Ariel Máximo Cantero, alias 'Guille'
Ariel Máximo Cantero, alias “Guille,” is the leader of Los Monos, a family clan and drug gang based in Rosario,…
Pablo Escobar
AUC
/
30 AUG 2021
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was the pioneer in industrial-scale cocaine trafficking.
Jimmy Chérizier, alias 'Barbecue'
CARIBBEAN
/
19 AUG 2021
Former police officer Jimmy Chérizier, alias "Barbecue," is one of Haiti’s most prolific gang leaders.
Bala na Cara
BRAZIL
/
27 JUL 2021
Bala na Cara (BNC) is a prominent criminal group in Brazil's southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Border Command
COLOMBIA
/
8 JUL 2021
Los Comandos de la Frontera, or the Border Command, formerly known as La Mafia, is a group made up of…
G9 and Family
The “G9 and family and allies” (“G9 en fanmi e alyi” – G9) is a criminal federation of nine of…
César Emilio Peralta, alias ‘El Abusador’
COCAINE
/
29 JUN 2021
César Emilio Peralta, alias “El Abusador,” is one of the Dominican Republic's most notorious drug traffickers.
Eliecer Erlinto Chamorro, alias 'Antonio Garcia'
ANTONIO GARCÍA
/
JUNE 24, 2021
Eliecer Erlinto Chamorro, alias "Antonio Garcia," is the number two commander in Colombias National Liberation Army…
Loophole Spurs Large-Scale Land Grabs in Brazil
BRAZIL
/
4 JUN 2021
A government registry in Brazil has been used to designate millions of hectares of Amazon forest as rural lands, in…
Los Lagartos
ECUADOR
/
1 JUN 2021
Integrated by multiple gangs with shared allies and enemies, Los Lagartos is one of Ecuador’s prolific prison gangs, whose rivalry…
José Adán Salazar Umaña, alias 'Chepe Diablo'
CHEPE DIABLO
/
MAY 26, 2021
José Adán Salazar Umaña, alias "Chepe Diablo," does not fit the normal profile of a criminal leader. As the former…
Cárteles Unidos
MEXICO
/
25 MAY 2021
The Cárteles Unidos (CU) is a criminal organization that was born out of an alliance between the Cartel de Tepalcatepec,…
Latest
Alleged Money Launderer Álex Saab Facing US Justice Triggers Fallout from Venezuela
ELITES AND CRIME
/
19 OCT 2021
Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro's aggressive reaction to the extradition of accused money launderer and ally Álex Saab – who appeared for the first time before a US judge to face…
Haiti Kidnappings Target Foreigners in Evolution of Security Crisis
HAITI
/
18 OCT 2021
The abduction of 17 American and Canadian citizens in Haiti will bring a new level of attention to the country’s out-of-control kidnapping crisis but is unlikely to lead to new…
Cartel Gunmen Take Out Surveillance Cameras in Sinaloa, Mexico
MEXICO
/
18 OCT 2021
Gunmen have gone on a shooting spree of police surveillance cameras in the Mexican city of Culiacán – attacks that not only blind authorities but reinforce cartel control.
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