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Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
Heriberto Lazcano, alias 'Z3'
MEXICO PERSONALITIES
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2016-10-20 19:47:17
Heriberto Lazcano, alias "Z3," was a former commander in the Mexican special forces, before going on to head the…
Daniel Barrera Barrera, alias 'El Loco'
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
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MAY 5, 2020
Daniel Barrera Barrera, alias "El Loco," was the closest thing Colombia has to a modern Pablo Escobar. Until his capture…
Miguel Angel Treviño, alias 'Z40'
MEXICO PERSONALITIES
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JULY 17, 2021
Miguel Angel Treviño, alias "Z40," was a top commander of the Zetas criminal organization in Mexico before his capture by…
Diego Perez Henao, alias 'Diego Rastrojo'
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
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2016-11-07 22:02:10
Diego Perez Henao, alias "Diego Rastrojo," was the military head of the Rastrojos, a criminal syndicate whose…
Luis E. Calle Serna
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
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2017-02-16 22:07:27
Luis Enrique Calle Serna was a leader in the feared and ambitious Rastrojos criminal organization in Colombia. He surrendered to US…
Mexico Profile
MEXICO
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2021-05-05
Mexico is home to some of the hemisphere’s largest, most sophisticated and violent organized criminal groups. These organizations have drawn…
Javier Antonio Calle Serna, alias 'Comba'
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
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2017-03-10 03:35:08
Javier Antonio Calle Serna, alias Comba, was the top leader of the Rastrojos, a group of former paramilitary…
Paisas
COLOMBIA GROUPS
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2017-03-10 03:31:38
The Paisas first emerged as a rural militia that grew out of the demobilized AUC paramilitary army, with…
Guillermo Leon Saenz Vargas, alias 'Alfonso Cano'
ALFONSO CANO
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2017-03-10 03:22:31
Guillermo Leon Saenz Vargas, alias Alfonso Cano, was the supreme commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the hemisphere's oldest…
Rastrojos
DIEGO RASTROJO
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2017-02-16 21:57:11
The Rastrojos were born out of the powerful Norte del Valle drug cartel and rose to become one of the…
Familia Michoacana
LA FAMILIA MICHOACANA
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MAY 5, 2020
At the height of its power, the Familia Michoacanas brutal tactics, strong base of operations and pseudo-religious ideology made it…
Latest
Alleged Money Launderer Álex Saab Facing US Justice Triggers Fallout from Venezuela
ELITES AND CRIME
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19 OCT 2021
Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro's aggressive reaction to the extradition of accused money launderer and ally Álex Saab – who appeared for the first time before a US judge to face…
Haiti Kidnappings Target Foreigners in Evolution of Security Crisis
HAITI
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18 OCT 2021
The abduction of 17 American and Canadian citizens in Haiti will bring a new level of attention to the country’s out-of-control kidnapping crisis but is unlikely to lead to new…
Cartel Gunmen Take Out Surveillance Cameras in Sinaloa, Mexico
MEXICO
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18 OCT 2021
Gunmen have gone on a shooting spree of police surveillance cameras in the Mexican city of Culiacán – attacks that not only blind authorities but reinforce cartel control.
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