In the heart of Latin America, transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) are undergoing an unprecedented transformation, one complicated by the presence of foreign state actors. The incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI), biometrics, and neurodata into TCOs operations, coupled with strategic data harvesting by global rivals, is rewriting the criminal landscape. This dual-pronged threat forces security institutions to rapidly advance cybersecurity, international cooperation, and legal frameworks to address increasingly sophisticated adversaries.
An analysis by the Institute of International Relations at the National University of La Plata, Argentina, warns that AI and autonomous systems are accelerating the convergence between different criminal networks. This “technological leveling” gives TCOs capabilities previously reserved for state actors, while simultaneously drawing attention to the sophisticated intelligence-gathering operations emanating from overseas.
“TCOs move faster than governments. Without urgent policies on sensitive data protection, neurosecurity, and AI regulation, criminal networks will continue to exploit legal and technological loopholes, leaving states at a disadvantage in the face of rapidly evolving threats,” Victor Ruiz, founder of the SILIKN cybersecurity center in Mexico, told Diálogo.
The rise of AI in the service of crime
AI is no longer a futuristic resource; it has become a real and dangerous tool for crime. The report, Use of Artificial Intelligence by High-Risk Criminal Networks, released under the Europe-Latin America Programme of Assistance against Transnational Organised Crime, EL PACCTO 2.0, highlights that algorithms and automation are reshaping the criminal landscape in the region.
Organizations such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel use AI to plan trafficking routes, optimize logistics, anticipate risks, and evade controls. These solutions, developed with regional digital intermediaries, allow criminals to access technological infrastructures as a service.
Crucially, the effectiveness of these criminal enterprises is directly bolstered by partnerships extending to foreign actors. China, in particular, plays a significant enabling role. Chinese money laundering networks use sophisticated, potentially AI-optimized, digital platforms and cryptocurrencies to process vast sums for the cartels, providing the financial plumbing essential for sustaining their high-tech operations.
Furthermore, the cartels rely on a steady flow of precursors chemicals from China to manufacture fentanyl and methamphetamine, utilizing AI and advanced logistics to manage this complex, global supply chain. This highly visible precursor trade operates with the tacit support of the Chinese state, as experts note that Chinese chemical companies often advertise openly on the web and other platforms to promote their precursor bundles directly to Mexican criminal groups.
Leveraging these technological advantages, the use of AI in these criminal networks extends across four broad categories: economic, sexual, political-ideological, and terrorist, ranging from fraud and extortion to social manipulation, propaganda, and sabotage. The report notes that cartels automate scams and terrorism by prioritizing digital propaganda.
In addition, criminals use algorithms to detect and recruit vulnerable minors, especially teenagers without adult supervision, luring them with promises of success and belonging.
Biometrics: The digital gold of organized crime
Biometrics has become a strategic resource for organized crime, which exploits facial, fingerprint, and iris recognition systems to steal, exchange, and trade digital identities. The scale of this threat is compounded by the widespread use of foreign surveillance technology.
Beyond the threat posed by TCOs exploiting data breaches, the proliferation of Chinese-made AI surveillance systems — sold by firms like Huawei, Hikvision, and Dahua — across Latin American cities and infrastructure projects introduces a significant state-level risk. These “safe city” projects integrate facial recognition and biometric systems for public security, but their design potentially creates backdoors and huge centralized databases of sensitive biometric data. This infrastructure presents a dual vulnerability: The data is a prime target for exploitation by TCOs, and the systems themselves could be leveraged by the Chinese state for intelligence gathering, creating a national security risk for the host countries.
The consequences of this digital vulnerability are already manifesting. In El Salvador, more than 5 million facial images and personal data were leaked on the dark web in 2024, constituting one of the largest regional biometric breaches. In Colombia, Law 2502 of 2025 classified the use of AI in identity theft crimes as an aggravating factor, reflecting the urgency of the problem.
In Mexico, 13 percent of the population has been a victim of identity theft, a phenomenon exacerbated by the difficulty of reversing the theft of biometric data. The consequences are often permanent, making biometrics one of the region’s main digital vulnerabilities.
Neurodata: A dual threat
Beyond traditional identity theft, a new and more insidious focus has emerged: neurodata. This information, extracted from brain waves during sleep or concentration, allows the creation of cognitive profiles that can be manipulated, blackmailed, or used to control vulnerable groups.
This threat is amplified by the known actions of foreign state actors. Recent reports of the theft of athletes’ brain data using measuring devices, publicized in September 2025, revealed a global campaign linked to the Chinese state-backed company BrainCo. This suggests a strategic campaign to harvest neural data for military and espionage advantage. While this kind of state-level data collection targets strategic information, its sophisticated tools and methods are what criminal organizations eventually seek to replicate or acquire.
Ruiz warns of the potential for convergence: “Although the use of neurodata by TCOs is currently limited, the integration of AI, biometrics, and neural analysis offers a framework that could be exploited in the short term.”
The concern extends most critically to military, police, and intelligence personnel. In the hands of a hostile state like China or a sophisticated TCO, their neural data could be used to anticipate decisions under pressure, turning neurodata into a strategic vector to disorient and weaken the response of security forces.
AI in defense: A technological race against crime
Not all technological advances are on the side of the adversaries. AI has also become a key ally for Latin American security forces, allowing them to process large volumes of information, identify criminal patterns, anticipate risk areas, and optimize operational response.
The Colombian National Police, for example, implemented an AI system with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that has reduced response times by 49 percent and improved prediction accuracy by 89 percent. At the regional level, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) launched the Safe Cities platform, which uses AI and data analysis to consolidate information on security, urban development, and social risk, prioritizing prevention strategies.
The challenge of hemispheric cooperation
The fight against the dual threat of TCOs and state-level cyber threats requires more than technology: It demands cooperation. Recognizing this shared challenge, the United States is actively supporting its regional partner to bolster digital defenses. U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), for example, is promoting programs to strengthen the cyber defense of Latin American armed forces through joint training, intelligence sharing, and reinforcement of incident response systems. Washington maintains biometric data exchanges with countries in the region, improving the detection and prosecution of digital crime.
For Ruiz, “technical cooperation and cyber intelligence sharing in the hemisphere are key to anticipating and curbing the illicit exploitation of neurodata, biometrics, and AI.”
However, Ruiz stresses that “current agreements are limited and scattered, making it difficult to respond jointly to cross-border digital crimes, such as the theft of biometric information or attacks on critical infrastructure.” He warns of the need for more integrated coordination mechanisms that allow for legal action against these evolving threats.
Ultimately, “the United States remains the most developed strategic partner in cyber defense and intelligence sharing, a link that could serve as the basis for a future regional digital security policy,” Ruiz concludes.
Transnational crime in Latin America has entered a new era. AI, biometrics, and neurodata not only redefine the threat, but when seen through the lens of sophisticated state-level espionage, demand a collective, technological, and legal response commensurate with an increasingly sophisticated adversary.
