Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
The Colombian Mafia
The mafia in Colombia today is comprised of a maelstrom of localized groups, shadowy power brokers and sub-contracted labor that…
Colombia’s Comprehensive Approach for a Post-FARC State
The demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) has simultaneously represented a…
José Bayron Piedrahita Ceballos, alias ‘El Árabe,’ or the ‘Patron de Caucasia’
José Bayron Piedrahita Ceballos is presumed to be one of the biggest drug lords in Colombia. During his criminal career…
EPL
The dissidence of the EPL, which the Security Forces call Los Peludos, is the dissidence of the guerrilla group Popular…
Miguel Botache Santillana, alias ‘Gentil Duarte’
Miguel Botache Santillana, better known as "Gentil Duarte," is currently Colombia's most wanted criminal. He used to be an…
Gustavo Aníbal Giraldo, alias ‘Pablito’
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 ‘Jhon 40’
Géner García Molina, better known as "Jhon 40," is the one who connects the cocaine that leaves southern Colombia…
1st Front Dissidence (Ex-FARC Mafia)
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’
Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias “Iván Mordisco,” is currently one of southern Colombia’s principal criminals. Until 2016 he served as…
Ex-FARC Mafia: The New Player in Colombian Organized Crime
The Marxist rebel army of the FARC is gone, disbanded and reborn as a political party. But the ex-FARC mafia…
Knights Templar
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
The “Cartel of the Suns” (Cartel de los Soles) is the term used to describe the shadowy groups inside Venezuela’s…
Latest News
LatAm Crime Groups Set Sights on Europe’s Bustling Cocaine Market
With higher profits and lower risks than the United States, Europe has emerged recently as arguably the most important cocaine market in the world.
Colectivos Ramp Up Property Seizures in Venezuela
An increase in the number of reports of illegal invasions of homes and commercial establishments in Venezuela during the pandemic has revealed the ever-widening criminal portfolio managed by militant civilian…
French Guiana’s Unpatrolled Waters Lure Illegal Fishing Crews
Illegal fishing off the coast of French Guiana surged amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as French maritime patrols struggled to mobilize resources, luring illegal fishing crews to the country's pristine waters.
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