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Criminal Actors
Histories and profiles of organized crime groups, insurgencies, street gangs, vigilantes and the criminal actors that lead them.
Argentina Profile
Despite Argentina's prominent role as a money laundering center and as a drug transit and consumption point, the country does…
Amigos dos Amigos
AMIGOS DOS AMIGOS
/
2018-03-30
Amigos dos Amigos is a criminal group based in Brazil’s second-largest city, Rio de Janeiro. The organization was formed in…
The Colombian Mafia
COLOMBIA
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13 MAR 2018
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
COLOMBIA
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9 MAR 2018
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'
COLOMBIA MAFIA
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MAY 10, 2019
José Bayron Piedrahita Ceballos is presumed to be one of the biggest drug lords in Colombia. During his criminal career…
Miguel Botache Santillana, alias 'Gentil Duarte'
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
/
OCTOBER 27, 2019
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'
ELN
/
MARCH 3, 2019
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 'John 40'
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
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JUNE 14, 2021
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)
COLOMBIA GROUPS
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JULY 13, 2019
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'
COLOMBIA PERSONALITIES
/
OCTOBER 27, 2019
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
COLOMBIA
/
9 MAR 2018
The Marxist rebel army of the FARC is gone, disbanded and reborn as a political party. But the ex-FARC mafia…
Knights Templar
MEXICO GROUPS
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12 SEP 2017
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…
Latest
Religious Statuettes Branded as El Koki for Sale in Caracas
EL COQUI
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23 JUL 2021
Salesmen in Caracas have come up with an enterprising response to the Venezuelan capital’s descent into criminal warfare: selling devotional statuettes dressed like members of El Koki's gang.
FARC Dissidents Want Old Land Back in Colombia's Caquetá and Meta
COLOMBIA
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23 JUL 2021
Once belonging to the demobilized FARC, certain criminal groups seek to reconquer surrendered assets, driving a wave of violence in southern and central Colombia.
Fake Vaccination Certificates: The Next COVID-19 Forgery in Mexico
COVID AND CRIME
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22 JUL 2021
After peddling fake tests and vaccines for the coronavirus, criminals are now selling counterfeit vaccination certificates in Mexico City, allowing their customers to lie about their vaccine status and travel…
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