MACRO-CRIMINALIDAD: COMPLEJIDAD Y RESILIENCIA DE LAS REDES CRIMINALES

Bearing in mind the transformations observed in the drug trafficking market, particularly in the Western Hemisphere, the purpose of this book is to provide documented insights that allow re-evaluating the following well spread ideas: At some point, cartels and transnational illicit networks focused on drug trafficking will be bowed; at some point, Mexico, Colombia and other Central America countries will be free of drug trafficking; corruption is solely an administrative and economic issue; and criminal networks and the State are always confronting each other.

In order to dismiss these ideas, Social Network Analysis (SNA) is applied. This methodology allows illustrating the intricate world of social interactions between criminals, public servants, private sector agents and political agents.

Criminal networks from three countries are analyzed in this book: Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. In each case, the Social Network Analysis (SNA) is complemented with a qualitative contextualization consisting of historical, sociological and economic events that make it easier to understand the background, causes and consequences related to each criminal network. The book is divided into seven parts, and each part in different chapters as follows.

The first part includes the theoretical and methodological frameworks. This part is divided into four chapters. In Chapter 1, the concept of Co-Opted State Reconfiguration (CStR) is presented. This concept, as it will be discussed, allows understanding conceptual and causal relationships existing between corruption and different forms and processes of crime like drug trafficking. More importantly, it allows understanding the institutional effects resulting from processes involving drug trafficking and advanced and systematic stages of corruption. In Chapter 2, key protocols of Social Networks Analysis are presented. In Chapters 3 and 4, complementary protocols are introduced, in order to compare the institutional scope resulting from the action of illicit networks operating in different administrative levels of Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.

The second part, also divided in four chapters, consists on the model and analysis of criminal networks that operated in Colombia, mainly involving narco-paramilitary agents. In Chapters 5 and 6, a criminal network operating at the local administrative level of a municipality known as Soledad is presented. This criminal network allows us to illustrate how a narco-paramilitary group manipulated a municipality in Colombia and divert and illegally appropriate huge amounts of public resources of the municipal budget; budget that was initially allocated to improve education, health and infrastructure of the town. In Chapters 7 and 8, a criminal network in the Sucre Department/Province of Colombia is contextualized, modeled and analyzed. This criminal network, complemented with empirical data, allows identifying a bottom-up process of Co-opted State Reconfiguration in Colombia that began in different local administrations, and reached the legislative branch at the national level.

The third part, again divided in four chapters, includes the analysis and contextualization of a criminal network in Guatemala. In Chapter 9, a situation of failed institutions in Guatemala is discussed. In Chapter 10, a criminal network focused on massive money laundering is modeled and analyzed. A former President of Guatemala, international bankers, and drug traffickers established this transnational criminal network that mainly operated in the public administration of Guatemala at the top National level. This means that a complex and advanced process of State Capture (StC) and Co-opted State Reconfiguration (CStR) are observed at the national level of Guatemala. In Chapters 11 and 12, a detailed explanation of the background, causes and consequences of this criminal network is presented.

The fourth part, also divided in four chapters, consists on the analysis of a criminal transnational network of drug trafficking that involved Colombian and Mexican drug traffickers. This transnational criminal illustrates the new scheme of negotiation and collaboration established by Colombian and Mexican drug traffickers: Specific arrangements on amounts and prices are agreed by Colombian drug traffickers, and specific procedures of transportation and money laundering are carried out by Mexican drug traffickers for taking the drug inside of the United States, as a further step after the Colombian ones have moved it from Colombia into Central America or specifically Mexico. In Chapter 13 the most important Mexican Cartels are listed, with their regional domains and operative schemes. In Chapter 14, the criminal transnational network mentioned above is modeled and analyzed. In Chapter 15, historical and sociological hypothesis are proposed to explain the new drug trafficking structure that is exemplified through the Colombo-Mexican network. In Chapter 16, it is included a detailed explanation of events and agents involved in the network. In Chapter 17, future scenarios regarding the collaboration between Colombian and Mexican drug traffickers are discussed.

The fifth part, divided in three chapters, consists on the analysis of a Mexican Cartel known as “The Michoacan Family” [La Familia Michoacana]. In Chapter 18, Social Network Analysis is applied to understand the structure of “The Michoacan Family”, which includes the participation of drug traffickers, security agents, members of the legislative and executive branch at the local and regional levels, and some of them, even at the national level. In Chapter 19 historical and sociological hypothesis explaining the formation and evolution of “La Familia” are discussed. In Chapter 20, it is presented a detailed reconstruction of historical events related to the operation of “La Familia”.

In the sixth part, divided in two chapters, it is presented a comparative analysis of the criminal networks analyzed. In Chapter 21 the comparative analysis is elaborated through the methodology of Social Network Analysis for Institutional Diagnosis (SNAID), with the purpose of identifying the most affected institutions and administrative levels, as a result of processes of State Capture (StC) and Co-opted State Reconfiguration (CStR) in Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. In Chapter 22, specific features regarding schemes of operation and structures of each network are discussed.

In the seventh part, divided in three chapters, public policy actions are proposed in order to improve the domestic and transnational capacities to prevent, control, and impose sanctions to criminal networks like those analyzed herein.