Rastrojos News
The Colombian Mafia
The mafia in Colombia today is comprised of a maelstrom of localized groups, shadowy power brokers and sub-contracted labor that combine to bring order to the underworld chaos and make billions from trafficking everything from cocaine to...
Rastrojos Profile
Rastrojos
The Rastrojos were born out of the powerful Norte del Valle drug cartel and rose to become one of the most powerful transnational criminal syndicates in Colombia, until their top leadership surrendered or was captured in...
More Rastrojos News
Brief /
Plea Deal Lands Colombia Drug Boss Light Sentence in US Court
A Colombian drug boss whose surrender to US authorities helped decimate what was once among the country's most powerful criminal organizations has negotiated his...
Brief /
Report Breaks Down 15 Years of Bloodshed in Colombia’s Murder Capital
A new analysis of 15 years of homicide statistics in Colombia's most violent city, Cali, highlights the direct correlation between underworld evolutions and...
Brief /
Arrest Signals Persistence of Rastrojos Faction in Colombia Drug Trade
The arrest of the alleged leader of Rastrojos faction "los Comba" is a sign that the criminal group was able to grow under the authorities' radar since its near...
Analysis /
Surging South America Cocaine Use a Market Boom for Crime Networks
Growth of cocaine use in South America is outpacing any other region in the world and creating an emerging market boom for organized crime groups that are...
Analysis /
Crime Groups Win in Colombia – Venezuela Border Closure
Venezuela's decision to close its border with Colombia in 2015 has been hugely profitable for criminal groups, who now have unprecedented control over contraband...
Brief /
Arrests Spotlight Trend of Colombian Criminal Migration Abroad
The recent arrests of Colombian drug trafficking bosses abroad is indicative of how local criminal leaders have set up residence across Latin America, both to...
Brief /
Colombia Frees Brother of Top Organized Crime Leader
The recent release of a high-level drug trafficking and money laundering suspect highlights Colombia's continued difficulty in successfully prosecuting organized...
Brief /
Venezuela Police Gun Down Colombian Gangster on Border
Venezuelan police have killed a former Colombian paramilitary accused of committing murders and trafficking drugs along the Venezuela-Colombia frontier, a...
Brief /
Colombia’s ‘Invisible’ Drug Traffickers May Include ‘Narco-Ghost’
A profile of a Colombian drug trafficker who, after a long criminal career, disappeared off the radar highlights how key figures in the underworld continue to...
