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Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
Amigos dos Amigos
AMIGOS DOS AMIGOS
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MARCH 30, 2018
Amigos dos Amigos is a criminal group based in Brazil’s second-largest city, Rio de Janeiro. The organization was formed in…
The Colombian Mafia
COLOMBIA
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13 MAR 2018
The mafia in Colombia today is comprised of a maelstrom of localized groups, shadowy power brokers and sub-contracted labor that…
Colombia’s Comprehensive Approach for a Post-FARC State
COLOMBIA
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9 MAR 2018
The demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) has simultaneously represented a…
José Bayron Piedrahita Ceballos, alias 'El Árabe,' or the 'Patron de Caucasia'
COLOMBIA MAFIA
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MAY 10, 2019
José Bayron Piedrahita Ceballos is presumed to be one of the biggest drug lords in Colombia. During his criminal career…
Miguel Botache Santillana, alias 'Gentil Duarte'
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
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MAY 26, 2022
Miguel Botache Santillana, better known as "Gentil Duarte," was Colombia's most wanted criminal until his death in May 2022.
Gustavo Aníbal Giraldo, alias 'Pablito'
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
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NOVEMBER 11, 2021
Gustavo Aníbal Giraldo Quinchía, alias “Pablito”, is a member of the ELN’s Central Command (Comando Central – COCE). He is one of the…
Géner García Molina, alias 'John 40'
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
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JUNE 14, 2021
Géner García Molina, better known as "Jhon 40," is the one who connects the cocaine that leaves southern Colombia…
1st Front (Ex-FARC Mafia)
COLOMBIA GROUPS
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JULY 13, 2019
The 1st Front dissidence is the most important of the criminal groups comprised of ex-members of the now demobilized Revolutionary…
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
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12 SEP 2017
The “Cartel of the Suns” (Cartel de los Soles) is the term used to describe the shadowy groups inside Venezuela’s…
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Memo Fantasma to Walk, Thanks to Colombian Prosecutor
AUC
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30 JUN 2022
Paramilitary drug lord, alias “Memo Fantasma” or “Will the Ghost,” may soon walk out of prison in Colombia, after the prosecutor fumbled two hearings designed to keep the accused in…
Turkey: Cocaine Hub Between Europe and the Middle East
COCAINE
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29 JUN 2022
Turkish and foreign law enforcement have seized record quantities of cocaine heading from South America to Turkey, revealing the growing role of the country’s powerful traffickers in the transit of…
Sinaloa Cartel Leader Hunted After Killing Priests, Baseball Players and US Tourist
MEXICO
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29 JUN 2022
El Chueco has quite the rap sheet, having allegedly killed priests, a tour guide, baseball players and an American tourist.
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