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