Latin American Gangs Participate in COVID-19 Response Effort

Pedestrians walk in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Flickr)

At this moment in time, the complex network of criminal gangs across Latin America is at an impasse. 

Many gangs are dependent on black-market activities that the coronavirus outbreak has severely jeopardized. Mexican black-market organizations depend on counterfeit luxury goods and precursor chemicals used in the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines that originate from Chinese supply chains. Border-crossing has also been severely affected by the outbreak, which has hurt cartels and guerrillas who depend on drug smugglers and gunrunners for weapons, largely purchased in the United States. 

Especially at the beginning of the outbreak, Latin American gangs had no intention of halting their illicit activities. In place of activities that depend on a pre-outbreak world, they have turned to human smuggling, cybercrime, kidnapping, and extortion. 

Some governments are cracking down on the crime. Colombian security forces have seized up to 112 tons of cocaine so far this year. On March 31, the Colombian Navy intercepted a narco-submarine carrying a ton of cocaine from the Colombian coast toward the United States. Other governments, however, are struggling to balance policing resources between enforcement of national lockdowns and regular illegal activities. In Mexico, for example, March 2020 was the most violent month since record-keeping began in 1997. Additionally, in Colombia, 60,000 soldiers and police have been diverted from their normal activities to the sole task of enforcing the national lockdown. Gangs have taken advantage of the lack of oversight to kill several human rights activists and community leaders.

Other gangs are taking a different approach to maintain dominance over their communities. Especially in areas that are receiving little help from the authorities, drug gangs have set up informal welfare schemes and are handing out food parcels. Some Mexican syndicates partaking in such activities include Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, and Los Viagras.

In countries like Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro still mostly denies that COVID-19 is a major threat, local authorities are actually depending on criminal organizations to enforce lockdowns and take charge of neighborhoods. Brazil’s health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, even told local officials earlier this month to collaborate with drug lords and gang leaders on coronavirus prevention. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico, on the other hand, told criminal gangs to stop donating food packages and instead focus on putting an end to the rampant violence taking over the country.

Latin American criminal organizations will either come out of the coronavirus crisis stronger or weaker than before. Governments are in a unique position to crack down on gangs, but if they miss this opportunity, they will likely end up in a weaker position than before the crisis.