A Decade of Tectonic Shifts in Criminal Markets
This is the tenth edition of our GameChanger series, and this year we are looking back over the last decade to understand what 2026 could mean for organized crime in the Americas.
We look at the migrant smuggling market bust and the explosion of cryptocurrency’s use by organized crime. We explain the evolution of the region’s marijuana market, and the rapid growth of environmental crime. Colombia’s Total Peace process is put under the microscope, as well as the seismic shift in the US drug war in the region. What does it all mean? Read on to find out.
Series Chapters
GameChangers 2025: How the Trump Administration Reset the Fight Against Organized Crime
From drug boat bombings to terrorist designations to WMDs, in 2025, the Trump administration upended the way the United States confronts criminals, but its impact on organized crime going forward…
GameChangers 2025: Top Criminal Newsmakers This Year
In a year that saw a dramatic reset to the fight against the drug trade and organized crime in the Americas by the administration of US President Donald Trump, the…
GameChangers 2025: Migration Smuggling Market Goes From Boom to Bust
The number of migrants traveling through Latin America to the United States plummeted in 2025 and sent organized crime groups scrambling to fill a huge hole in their profit. The abrupt…
GameChangers 2025: The 10-Year Evolution of Latin America’s Booming Marijuana Market
In a year where cocaine and fentanyl garnered international attention, marijuana continued to play a key role within the regional criminal landscape. During 2025, marijuana was again one of the…
GameChangers 2025: The Unstoppable Rise of Environmental Crime
In 2025, environmental crimes spread into corners of the Amazon Basin that had so far largely escaped the rampant plunder of the forest and its inhabitants by criminal networks and…
GameChangers 2025: Cryptocurrency Is Now in the Criminal Mainstream
A decade ago, Latin America’s criminal groups were starting to experiment with cryptocurrency, but in 2025, they went all in. And as the amount of cocaine trafficked around the globe…
GameChangers 2025: Colombia’s Total Peace Remains in Pieces
In 2025, Colombia faced levels of violence not seen in years, driven by clashes among criminal groups that have strengthened their military power and territorial control in areas critical to…
GameChangers 2025: US Reignites the War on Drugs and Weakens It for 2026
The quantum shift in US security policy in Latin America and the Caribbean under President Donald Trump in 2025 has moved towards a militarized and repressive model and is forsaking…
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