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Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
Néstor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias 'Iván Mordisco'
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
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SEPTEMBER 21, 2021
Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias “Iván Mordisco,” is currently one of southern Colombia’s principal criminals. Until 2016 he served as…
Ex-FARC Mafia: The New Player in Colombian Organized Crime
COLOMBIA
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9 MAR 2018
The Marxist rebel army of the FARC is gone, disbanded and reborn as a political party. But the ex-FARC mafia…
Knights Templar
MEXICO GROUPS
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12 SEP 2017
The Knights Templar (Cabelleros Templarios) emerged in March 2011 as a splinter group of the once-mighty Familia Michoacana. Like their predecessors, the Knights Templar cast themselves…
Cartel of the Suns
VENEZUELA GROUPS
/
12 SEP 2017
The “Cartel of the Suns” (Cartel de los Soles) is the term used to describe the shadowy groups inside Venezuela’s…
Juarez Cartel
MEXICO GROUPS
/
12 SEP 2017
The Juárez Cartel is responsible for smuggling tons of narcotics from Mexico into the United States throughout its long and turbulent…
Tijuana Cartel
MEXICO GROUPS
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12 SEP 2017
The Tijuana Cartel, also known as the Arellano Felix Organization, is based in one of the most strategically important Mexico…
Gulf Cartel
MEXICO GROUPS
/
12 SEP 2017
The Gulf Cartel is one of the oldest and most powerful of Mexicos criminal groups but has lost territory and influence in…
Sinaloa Cartel
MEXICO GROUPS
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12 SEP 2017
The Sinaloa Cartel, often described as the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere, is an…
Familia Michoacana
MEXICO GROUPS
/
12 SEP 2017
At the height of its power, the Familia Michoacanas brutal tactics, strong base of operations and pseudo-religious ideology made it…
Cachiros
HONDURAS GROUPS
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12 SEP 2017
The Cachiros were one of Honduras' largest transport groups, with a net worth close to $1 billion. Made up of…
Perrones Cartel
EL SALVADOR GROUPS
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11 SEP 2017
The Perrones are El Salvador's most infamous transportation group. Made up of a mix of hoteliers, human smugglers, and contraband…
Latest
Fowl Play – How Contraband Chicken is Flooding Paraguay
ARGENTINA
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24 SEP 2021
An influx of contraband chicken from Argentina into Paraguay has overwhelmed the local market and is threatening to put local farmers out of business.
Death of a Pran: Suicide Marks Venezuela Former Prison Boss’ Decline
PRISONS
/
24 SEP 2021
Weeks after reports emerged of the suicide of a notorious Venezuelan prison gang boss in Colombia, authorities have confirmed the death of Edwin Ramón Soto Nava – a death that…
Jalisco Cartel Sets Off Alarm Bells Along Mexico-Guatemala Border
GUATEMALA
/
23 SEP 2021
The Jalisco Cartel New Generation, which has rapidly expanded to become Mexico's greatest criminal threat, may now be spreading its influence in a new area: the border with Guatemala.
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