Browsing: Transnational Crime

Ecuadorian security forces captured Francisco Manuel Bermúdez Cagua, alias Churrón, one of the top leaders of Los Choneros, in Guayaquil on July 2. Bermúdez Cagua was wanted by U.S. authorities on drug trafficking and weapons charges. The U.S. government had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. The arrest further reduced…

The Caribbean Sea’s growing role in cocaine trafficking routes oused by transnational criminal organizations highlights the need to move beyond isolated national responses toward a multinational strategy that integrates military, air and maritime, intelligence, and law enforcement capabilities. The challenge is compounded by persistently high levels of coca cultivation in Colombia. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and…

The capture in Colombia of Ronald Javier Macías Villamar, alias Javi, an alleged leader of the Los Choneros terrorist organization, demonstrated the operational reach of Ecuador’s cooperation with its regional partners against transnational organized crime. The intelligence sharing that led authorities to locate him in Bogotá is part of a series of bilateral and regional mechanisms through which Ecuador seeks…

Ecuador and the United States continue to expand the tools available to confront transnational criminal organizations and the networks that sustain their operations within and beyond the country. As authorities intensify actions against these organizations, new terrorist designations are strengthening the legal and financial tools available to target their resources and support networks. Among them are the U.S. designations of…

Brazil’s two largest criminal organizations, the First Capital Command (PCC) and the Red Command (CV), have expanded their transnational reach by building relationships with local criminal groups and gaining access to different stages of the cocaine supply chain. In the tri-border region connecting the Colombian, Peruvian, and Brazilian Amazons, the most visible expansion has been that of CV, which has…

Transnational criminal organizations are expanding across Latin America at a pace that increasingly challenges the ability of individual countries to respond. They manage integrated illicit supply chains, control logistics corridors that span multiple borders, and exploit differences in national legislation, judicial systems, and border controls, making purely national responses increasingly inadequate. The 2025 Global Organized Crime Index ranks several South…

The Colombian armed group Comandos de La Frontera (CDF) has expanded its relationships and logistical networks in Ecuador through an alliance with Ecuadorian gang Los Lobos. Together, the groups have become part of a transnational criminal system that moves cocaine and other illicit goods between southern Colombia, Ecuador’s Amazon region, and ports on the Pacific coast. The CDF emerged following…

For transnational criminal organizations, Ecuador’s northern border remains a strategic corridor for drug trafficking, illicit arms trafficking, illegal mining, and other illicit economies. The Secure Border strategy, developed by Ecuador and the United States, seeks to reduce those opportunities by integrating intelligence, risk analysis, interagency coordination, and operational capabilities while supporting legitimate trade and strengthening security for border communities. Ecuador…