Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
Red Command
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
The First Capital Command (Primeiro Comando da Capital – PCC) was inspired by the Red Command (Comando Vermelho). Both criminal…
Shining Path
The Shining Path or the Militarized Communist Party (Militarizado Partido Comunista – MPC) is the last remnant of Peru’s guerrilla…
Dámaso López Núñez, alias ‘Licenciado’
Dámaso López Núñez, alias "Licenciado," is a prominent figure of the Sinaloa Cartel. Authorities believe he was the closest associate…
Óscar Mauricio Pachón, alias ‘Puntilla’
Óscar Mauricio Pachón, alias “Puntilla,” is a drug trafficker who controlled a criminal network descended from paramilitaries in Colombia’s strategic…
Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG)
The CJNG is a criminal group that has evolved as a result of killings, captures and rifts in older cartels.
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias ‘El Mencho’
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho," is the leader and founder of the Jalisco Cartel – New Generation (CJNG), and the man…
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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