Criminal Actors

Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.

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Gustavo Aníbal Giraldo, alias 'Pablito'

COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES / OCTOBER 3, 2022

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 / 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 / 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 / OCTOBER 17, 2022

Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias “Iván Mordisco,” was one of Colombia’s principal former FARC commanders until his death in July…

Ex-FARC Mafia: The New Player in Colombian Organized Crime

COLOMBIA / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 Mexico’s criminal groups but has lost territory and influence in…

Sinaloa Cartel

MEXICO GROUPS / 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 Michoacana’s brutal tactics, strong base of operations and pseudo-religious ideology made it…

Latest

Colombia's Peace Process Stumbles as Gaitanista Ceasefire Ends

COLOMBIA / 24 MAR 2023

The end of a ceasefire with Colombia's largest criminal group, the AGC, is a serious body blow to hopes for peace.

Dominican Republic Corruption Investigation Inches Toward Ex-President

CARIBBEAN / 23 MAR 2023

High-ranking officials from the former government of President Danilo Medina in the Dominican Republic continue to fall.

‘Mula’: The Bridge Between MS13 and Mexican Mafia in Tijuana, Mexico

CRIMINAL MIGRATION / 23 MAR 2023

Nelson Alexander Flores Pacheco, alias "Mula", was the liaison between the Mexican Mafia and the MS13 in Tijuana, Mexico.

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