Gangs and Organized Crime: A Growing Global Threat

The rise of gangs and transnational organized crime is increasingly alarming, fueled by policy decisions, global interconnectedness, and uncontrolled migration crises. El Salvador serves as a prominent example, where President Nayib Bukele has implemented aggressive measures against violent gangs, achieving significant improvements in security. However, critics argue that such tough-on-crime strategies are unique to El Salvador and caution against their replication in other contexts. In Colombia, former President Álvaro Uribe's military campaign against narco-guerrillas successfully reclaimed control from violent groups that had dominated a third of the country. This approach helped stabilize Colombia, but the current U.S. administration has shifted its focus away from supporting similar initiatives. The Biden administration has opted for a more passive stance, allowing the Petro government to weaken security forces and neglect commitments to combat drug trafficking, while prioritizing engagement on issues like climate change. The global landscape is also evolving, with criminal organizations forming illicit partnerships that transcend borders. The Venezuelan migrant crisis has exacerbated the situation, as gangs have expanded their operations into the U.S. and throughout Latin America, engaging in violent crimes and establishing networks for human smuggling and drug trafficking. This influx of criminal activity has destabilized previously low-crime nations like Chile and Uruguay, which are now grappling with the new gang threats. Moreover, the U.S. migration crisis has facilitated the entry of terrorist-affiliated human smuggling networks from regions as distant as Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, further complicating the security landscape in the Western Hemisphere.