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Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
Honduras Profile
HONDURAS
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FEBRUARY 15, 2021
Honduras, long one of the poorest countries in Latin America, is now also among the most violent and crime-ridden. The…
Escritório do Crime
BRAZIL GROUPS
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15 FEB 2021
Escritório do Crime (Office of Crime) is one of the largest and most powerful militia groups in Brazil’s second-largest city,…
Chiquimula, Guatemala
COCAINE
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22 JAN 2021
Chiquimula is a transit point and hub for drug trafficking. It also has marijuana production and a vibrant contraband and…
Izabal, Guatemala
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILES
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22 JAN 2021
Izabal is one of the most important transit hubs for cocaine being smuggled from Honduras into Guatemala by land, as…
Zacapa, Guatemala
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILES
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22 JAN 2021
In the department of Zacapa, long a transit point for cocaine and marijuana bound for Mexico and the US, drug…
Jutiapa, Guatemala
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILES
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22 JAN 2021
Jutiapa is a transit point for narcotics shipments and a hotspot for illegal firearm possession. Criminal groups smuggle illicit weapons…
Border Security Colectivo
VENEZUELA GROUPS
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
The Border Security Colectivo (Colectivo de Seguridad Fronteriza – CSF) is a state-supported irregular militia group based in the Colombian…
Cartel of the Suns
CARTEL DE LOS SOLES
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14 JAN 2021
The “Cartel of the Suns” (Cartel de los Soles) is the term used to describe the shadowy groups inside Venezuela’s…
Wilexis Alexander Acevedo Monasterios, alias 'Wilexis'
VENEZUELA PERSONALITIES
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NOVEMBER 3, 2021
Wilexis Alexander Acevedo Monasterios has led the gang which bears his name since at least 2017. With between 150 and…
The Meleán
VENEZUELA GROUPS
/
8 JAN 2021
For more than 40 years, the Meleán gang has ranked among the leading criminal groups within the criminal landscape of…
Fuerza Anti-Unión
MEXICO GROUPS
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2020-11-13
La Fuerza Anti-Unión (FAU) is a criminal organization that has grown rapidly since its inception as a vigilante group.
La Unión Tepito
LA UNIÓN TEPITO
/
NOVEMBER 12, 2020
La Unión Tepito is a large criminal group indigenous to Mexico City, named after one of the capital’s largest neighborhoods.
Latest
US Guns Flow into Haiti, Fuel Gang Violence
ARMS TRAFFICKING
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30 NOV 2021
A string of US citizens and residents accused of smuggling weapons into Haiti underscores how guns purchased in the United States are a source of illegal weapons in a country…
3 Security Takeaways from Xiomara Castro's Historic Win in Honduras
COVID AND CRIME
/
30 NOV 2021
Leftist opposition candidate Xiomara Castro appears to have ridden a wave of outrage to become Honduras' next president, beating out her right-wing rival in the ruling party, which has come…
Costa Rica Sabotaging Own Efforts to Protect Vulnerable Sharks
COSTA RICA
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29 NOV 2021
A new report has suggested that recent progress made in Costa Rica to protect its abundant shark and turtle populations has been reversed due to recent commercial decisions. …
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