Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 for 2023
ELN
/
16 FEB 2023
InSight Crime has developed its own methodology to rank Venezuela's organized crime groups. Here, we present the strongest.
All About Venezuela Groups
NEWS
VENEZUELA
/
FEBRUARY 16, 2023
The Central General Staff (Estado Mayor Central - EMC) is the governing body of a group of factions who refused to demobilize during the FARC peace process in 2017.
EX-FARC MAFIA
/
FEBRUARY 15, 2023
The Acacio Medina Front is a dissident group that emerged from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), also known as the ex-FARC mafia.
VENEZUELA
/
14 FEB 2023
Las Claritas Sindicato is one of the strongest and longest-lasting criminal groups dedicated to illegal mining in Venezuela’s southern state of Bolívar.
EXTORTION
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JULY 11, 2023
The Carlos Capa gang is one of the oldest surviving criminal gangs in Valles del Tuy, south of Caracas in Venezuela.
ILLEGAL MINING
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JANUARY 26, 2023
The R Organization is one of Venezuela's fastest growing mining gangs, which are often referred to as sindicatos.
VENEZUELA
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JANUARY 26, 2021
Tren de Guayana is one of the most powerful mining gangs to currently operate in the southern Venezuela state of Bolívar.
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 border state of Táchira.
CARTEL OF THE SUNS
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MAY 14, 2022
The “Cartel of the Suns” (Cartel de los Soles) is the term used to describe the shadowy groups inside Venezuela’s military that are involved in a wide range of criminal…
VENEZUELA GROUPS
/
8 JAN 2021
For decades, the Meleán crime family was one of the most powerful criminal groups in Venezuela. Established by Antonio Jesús Meleán Vergel, alias “Antonito,” the clan controlled large swathes of…
TREN DE ARAGUA
/
SEPTEMBER 20, 2023
The Tren de Aragua is Venezuela’s most powerful local "megabanda," or large criminal gangs with more than 100 members. This group is largely based out of the Tocorón prison in…
COLOMBIA GROUPS
/
JUNE 1, 2023
Las disidencias de las FARC o ex-Farc Mafia son grupos de excombatientes de la antigua guerrilla que se opusieron o desencantaron del proceso de paz con el gobierno colombiano desde…
MEGABANDAS
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JUNE 23, 2022
Tren del Llano (Train of the Plain) is one of the first so-called "megabandas" or criminal gangs to develop in Venezuela.
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