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Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
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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20 JAN 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…
Los Meleán
VENEZUELA GROUPS
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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
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NOVEMBER 12, 2020
La Unión Tepito is a large criminal group indigenous to Mexico City, named after one of the capital’s largest neighborhoods.
El Salvador Profile
EL SALVADOR
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15 SEP 2020
El Salvador is a relatively small but growing player in the drug trafficking business. It serves as…
Rotela Clan
CLAN ROTELA
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AUGUST 23, 2020
Rotela Clan is a criminal group run by the Rotela family in Paraguay. It was originally specialized in the microtrafficking…
Segunda Marquetalia
COLOMBIA GROUPS
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MAY 18, 2021
The Segunda Marquetalia is a group made up of guerrillas, who once belonged to the FARC, but who refused to…
Ricardo Abel Ayala Ortega, alias 'Cabuyo'
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
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APRIL 23, 2021
Ricardo Abel Ayala Ortega, alias "Cabuyo," is currently one of Colombia's highest value military targets and operates mainly in the…
Los Chapitos
MEXICO PERSONALITIES
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2 JUL 2020
The now-jailed former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo,” had many sons, but only a select few…
Latest
Extermination Sites - The New Depths of Mexico's Disappearance Crisis
HUMAN RIGHTS
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4 AUG 2021
Families combing for clues about their vanished loved ones at recently discovered extermination sites in northern Mexico have turned to local cartel leaders for help - revealing their desperation to…
3 Takeaways from Jovenel Moïse’s Murder Investigation in Haiti
CARIBBEAN
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3 AUG 2021
Nearly a month after the midnight assassination of former Haiti President Jovenel Moïse, many of the details about the murder plot remain murky despite scores of arrests.
A Blend of Family and Politics in Guatemala's Cocaine Trade
COCAINE
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3 AUG 2021
An anti-narcotics operation in western Guatemala has shed further light on how families involved in local politics can play a pivotal role in the regional cocaine trade.
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