Criminal Actors

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

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Red Command

BRAZIL GROUPS / 6 SEP 2017

The Red Command (Comando Vermelho) is Brazil’s oldest criminal group, created in a Rio de Janeiro prison in the 1970s…

First Capital Command - PCC

BRAZIL GROUPS / 6 SEP 2017

The First Capital Command (Primeiro Comando da Capital – PCC) was inspired by the Red Command (Comando Vermelho). Both criminal…

Shining Path

PERU GROUPS / 2 SEP 2017

The Shining Path or the Militarized Communist Party (Militarizado Partido Comunista - MPC) is the last remnant of Peru’s guerrilla…

Ecuador Profile

ECUADOR / 2023-03-20

Ecuador is facing record homicides and the rapid expansion of gangs as it becomes a fulcrum in the international drug…

Dámaso López Núñez, alias 'Licenciado'

MEXICO / 2018-07-09

Dámaso López Núñez, alias "Licenciado, prominent in the Sinaloa Cartel, was extradited to the United States in 2018.

Tren del Llano

MEGABANDAS / JUNE 23, 2022

Tren del Llano (Train of the Plain) is one of the first so-called "megabandas" or criminal gangs to develop in…

FARC 57th Front in Panama

PANAMA / 2016-11-04 16:19:36

The FARC's 57th Front is active along the Colombia-Panama border, where it has long used the dense strip of jungle…

Atlantic Cartel

HONDURAS / 2017-08-28 14:09:31

The Atlantic Cartel is a Honduran drug trafficking organization reportedly led by Wilter Neptalí Blanco Ruíz. The group's alleged connections…

Óscar Mauricio Pachón, alias 'Puntilla'

COLOMBIA / DECEMBER 7, 2018

Óscar Mauricio Pachón, alias “Puntilla,” was a drug trafficker who controlled a criminal network in Colombia’s strategic Eastern Plains.

Caribbean Profile

CARIBBEAN / 2017-09-15

The Caribbean's geographic location and countless islands make it a huge transshipment route for drugs heading to the United States,…

Calor Calor

PANAMA / NOVEMBER 3, 2021

Calor Calor is one of Panama’s two most powerful gangs along with Bagdad, and the two battle fiercely for territorial…

Panama Profile

PANAMA / MARCH 24, 2021

Panama's location connecting Central and South America has made it a key transit point for illicit trade, as well as…

Latest

Paraguayan Prosecutors Indict Senator Linked to Transatlantic Cocaine Trade

COCAINE EUROPE / 29 MAY 2023

The impeachment of Paraguayan Congressman Erico Galeano for connections to drug trafficking shows progress against impunity in the country.

Guatemala Elites Flex Muscle, Excluding Leading Presidential Contender

ELITES AND CRIME / 26 MAY 2023

Carlos Pineda, the leading candidate in Guatemala's presidential elections, has been removed from the race on a technicality.

Brazil's PCC Complicates Fight Against Illegal Mining in Amazon

BRAZIL / 26 MAY 2023

The PCC appears to be providing support to illegal miners in the Yanomami territory in Brazil's northern state of Roraima.

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A country-by-country breakdown of the news as well as key criminal groups and players across Latin America and the Caribbean.

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