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Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
ARMS TRAFFICKING
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4 MAR 2021
Mato Grosso do Sul is among Brazil’s most strategic states for transnational crime.
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
COCAINE
/
4 MAR 2021
Strategically located between Argentina and Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul is a hub for contraband and drug smuggling.
Brazil Profile
BRAZIL
/
SEPTEMBER 8, 2020
Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, has seen some important security advances in recent years, taking dozens of communities in Rio…
Guatemala Profile
GUATEMALA
/
28 FEB 2021
Guatemala's criminal organizations are among the most sophisticated and dangerous in Central America. Some of them have been in operation…
Alto Paraguay, Paraguay
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILES
/
25 FEB 2021
One of Paraguay’s most sparsely populated but most homicidal departments, Alto Paraguay serves as an important cocaine transit corridor.
Concepción, Paraguay
ARMS TRAFFICKING
/
25 FEB 2021
In Concepción, powerful drug traffickers have penetrated local politics. With corruption rife, some municipalities have started to resemble criminal enclaves.
Itapúa, Paraguay
ARMS TRAFFICKING
/
25 FEB 2021
Itapúa is a minor marijuana producer but an important transit corridor for cannabis smuggled into Argentina. Some areas of the…
Ñeembucú, Paraguay
COCAINE
/
25 FEB 2021
Despite boasting one of Paraguay’s lowest murder rates, Ñeembucú is an important transit point for marijuana heading to Argentina.
Canindeyú, Paraguay
ARMS TRAFFICKING
/
25 FEB 2021
Located on Paraguay’s border with Brazil, Canindeyú is a key criminal hub in the tri-border area.
Boquerón, Paraguay
COCAINE
/
25 FEB 2021
Boquerón is an important part of regional cocaine trafficking routes due to its strategic location on Paraguay's border with Bolivia…
Alto Paraná, Paraguay
ARMS TRAFFICKING
/
25 FEB 2021
Alto Paraná is home to some of Paraguay’s most dynamic criminal economies. Contraband goods continue to flood Brazil and Argentina…
Latest
How the MS13 Became Lords of the Trash Dump in Honduras
HONDURAS
/
19 JAN 2022
Where Honduras ends, there are no borders, no guards, no gate post. This is where a nation vanishes with no fanfare.
Colombia's ‘King’ of Drug Subs Goes Down But Vessels Proliferate
COCAINE
/
18 JAN 2022
Authorities in Colombia have netted the country's "king" of drug submarines – a man whose services, prosecutors allege, have been employed by a range of powerful criminal groups from Colombia to…
With US Policy, Mexico Crime Groups See Double the Opportunity in Northbound Migrants
HUMAN RIGHTS
/
17 JAN 2022
Reported kidnappings have decreased significantly in Mexico, but in recent years, at least one out of every 10 kidnapping victims has been a migrant trying to reach the United States,…
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