Countries
Organized crime is a multinational business, and criminal gangs move from country to country for many of the same reasons a legitimate business does: They seek to exploit natural resources; they are looking for competent and experienced workers at a low price; they are expanding, seeking an advantage over their competitors or looking for a less crowded or dangerous marketplace. InSight profiles these countries by giving readers a quick look at the security forces, the geography, organized crime's history and the criminal activities these countries face.
Country Profiles
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Guatemala
Guatemala’s criminal organizations are the most sophisticated and dangerous in Central America. Some of them have been in operation for decades. They include former members of the military, intelligence agencies and active members of the police. Transporting illegal drugs north comprises the bulk of their activity, but organized crime in… -
Colombia
Despite the government’s advances in security over the last decade, at least a half dozen major criminal groups still operate in Colombia. Several of them have put ideology aside and focus on drug production, trafficking and distribution on a local level, even while they continue to move arms, launder money,… -
Mexico
Mexico is home to the hemisphere’s largest, most sophisticated and violent organized criminal gangs. These organizations have drawn from Mexico’s long history of smuggling and its close proximity to the United States, the world’s largest economy, to grow into a regional threat. Their networks stretch from Argentina into Canada and…
