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Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
Gustavo Aníbal Giraldo, alias 'Pablito'
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
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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
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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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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
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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
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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…
Juarez Cartel
MEXICO GROUPS
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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
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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
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12 SEP 2017
At the height of its power, the Familia Michoacanas brutal tactics, strong base of operations and pseudo-religious ideology made it…
Latest
Colombia's Peace Process Stumbles as Gaitanista Ceasefire Ends
COLOMBIA
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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
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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
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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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