Geopolitics of Impunity: Transnational Organised Crime in the Context of the Rise of Global Authoritarianism
The rise of global authoritarianism whips up a perfect storm, aiding the evolution of transnational organised crime. Transnational organised crime is becoming more organised by the day. Why has the evolving ground reality already surpassed the existing definitional and semantic understandings of this phenomenon? Transnational organised crime is a term,…
How the weak won the war on drugs: drug cartel fragmentation and the evolution of the new generation of Colombian drug traffickers.
New factors and circumstances are reshaping and redefining modern drug dealing organisations in Colombia. A defensive response Consistent violence has occurred within and throughout Colombia in the last thirty years as a consequence of the so-called “war on drugs” between the state and criminal actors. This unrest has catalysed a…
US Foreign Policy in Latin America: Wolf, are you there?
Image: Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, testifies on Capitol Hill, March 16, 2021. The United States (US) continues its efforts to tackle illicit trafficking and organized crime at home but has further restrained its engagement in Latin America. It…
What the Illicit Activities of Militias Can Tell Us About the True Nature of States
Relationships between states and militias – also understood as paramilitaries, self-defence groups, vigilantes, and other, more localised terms – can be difficult for analysts to make sense of. This is partially because there is huge variation across space and time in the form of the relationships. But it is also…
My Enemy’s Enemy is my Friend: Polarisation, Stigmatisation, and Political Violence in Colombia
As we approach Colombia’s election season, the prospect of an increase in political violence is at the front of many analysts’ minds. Colombia’s elections have often been bloody; five presidential candidates were assassinated in the 20th Century alone. Just a few years ago seven candidates were killed during the municipal…
To Militarise or not to Militarise: That is the Question
Argentina, a country in which the armed forces are struggling to grasp their role amongst other government institutions, presents fertile ground for the re-emergence of a timeless debate. To what extent should governments support the adoption of repressive counter narcotics policies and signal a move towards militarisation. Democracy and internal…
Exploring the Nexus Between Crime and Politics: Why Latin American Criminal Groups Engage in Political Discourse
In Latin America, several armed groups, after having created and functioned as criminal organisations, have publicly engaged in political discourse. For these organised crime groups (OCGs), participating in plausible political dialogue is not easy. It requires certain members of the organisation to be constantly assigned to this purpose (which reduces…
Our Friends, the Oligarchs: Financial Crime, Foreign Influence and Democracy
Germany’s attempts to penetrate the United Kingdom with spy networks in World War Two were spectacularly unsuccessful. Hastily recruited assets rushed across the Channel were spotted because of their broken English, thick accents and ignorance of pub closing times. Of the 115 German agents deployed to the U.K. during the…
A New Era in the War on Drugs? Between the Lines of the US-Colombia Bicentennial Partnership
Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1822, Colombia has become one of the United States’ (US’s) most important partners in Latin America. Collaboration notwithstanding, Colombia’s prominent role as a cultivator of coca, the base product for cocaine, has pushed counternarcotics policies centred on supply reduction to the forefront of this relationship.…
Mexico’s 15-Year ‘War on Drugs’: An Imperfect Narrative
December 2021 marked the 15th anniversary of the so-called ‘war on drugs’ in Mexico. In that time – and as renowned sociologist Fernando Escalante has articulated – “too many certainties” have become commonplace in national discourse. In particular, a cacophony of expressions have repeatedly been used by government officials across…