International Journal on Criminology Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 122

International Journal on Criminology
allied organizations of nodes (much like elites who serve on multiple
corporate boards).
Here we see something similar to a feudal knight serving
both his local liege (i.e., home gang) and a higher authority (i.e., the
cartel). This neo-feudal organization of the parallel governance space,
combined with its unbridled brutality/lethality and organizational
flexibility, makes it a significant threat to public safety and an important
case study in transitional criminal forms. In this case, it appears that La
Línea is a violent nonstate actor operating as a private army.
Links between gangs and cartels are common. Recent estimates link 61 U.S.
gangs with Mexican cartel activity (with 10 operating in the El Paso–Ciudad Juárez
plaza alone.) in that plaza, the gangs include: BA, Latin Kings, and La Hermandad de
Pistoleros Latinos (linked with the Juárez Cartel) and Los Sureños, Tango Blast, and
Latin Kings (linked with the Sinaloa Federation). (The Latin Kings work for or with
multiple cartels.) 18
Transnational crime involves organized criminal enterprises that operate on a
global scale. 19 These groups include the Sicilian Mafia, Neapolitan Camorra, Calabrian
‘Ndrangheta 20 as well as Mexican criminal cartels, and Asian triads. Dawood Ibrahim’s
D-Company is a notorious South Asia crime syndicate that has been linked to jihadis
including the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Boko Haram. 21
Terrorist and insurgents also engage in crime to support their primary goal,
and some even transition into essentially criminal bands. The FARC (Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de Colombia or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) started
as a revolutionary group. It utilized drug trafficking, extortion, and kidnapping
to support its operations to the degree that criminal enterprise largely supplanted
political activism. The FARC maintained links with drug cartels, terrorists (including
Hezbollah), and states (Venezuela). The Taliban in Afghanistan also relied upon narcotrafficking
to sustain funding. 22 Drug trafficking is a key element of convergence. 23
The Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) also relies upon criminal enterprises to fuel its
terrorist campaign and insurgency. Oil smuggling, kidnapping, human trafficking, and
extortion round out their repertoire. 24 Boko Haram, another insurgent entity liked to al-
Qaeda, also relies upon criminal enterprises for funding. In addition to raiding villages,
kidnapping, and human trafficking, it engages in arms trafficking and smuggling as
well as fiscal and cybercrime, and drug trafficking. 25 Elephant poaching for the illicit
ivory trade also funds insurgents such as al Shabaab and the Lord’s Liberation Army.
These groups control and tax the smuggling operations within their areas of control
and link with transnational criminal enterprises that operate the global illicit market
flows. 26
Interpenetration and co-option among gangs, cartels, and state officials (elected
officials, including mayors, police, judges, military personnel, and intelligence officers)
is the final variation of convergence. Here corrupted officials either orchestrate or
support hybrid networks that enable criminals to capture or co-opt the state (or parts
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