Latin American organised crime ‘may operate in 16 European countries’

A member of the Honduran narcotics directorate (DLCN) tests a package of cocaine before 2. 5 tonnes of the drug are burnt in Tegucigalpa earlier this month. Photograph: Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenA member of the Honduran narcotics directorate (DLCN) tests a package of cocaine before 2.

5 toneladas da droga foram queimadas em Tegucigalpa no início deste mês. Fotografia: Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images Bloodlines Desenvolvimento Global Crime organizado latino-americano 'may operate in 16 European countries' As apreensões de cocaína na Europa aumentaram mais do que cinco vezes em 10 anos, enquanto uma série de cartéis se enraiza.

A four-month Guardian investigation reveals the true scale of a continent-wide shift.

About this contentAndrei Netto in ParisTue 13 Oct 2026 03. 00 EDTLast modified on Tue 13 Oct 2026 03. 18 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleA four-month investigation by the Guardian has revealed that the surge in cocaine trafficking to Europe is directly linked to the expanding presence of Latin American criminal networks in Europe, where they have forged close ties with local mafia organisations.

The investigation, utilising databases, police and intelligence agencies, along with interviews with judges, prosecutors and experts from eight countries, shows that cartels and factions from Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Mexico and the US are active in at least 12 European countries.

Entre 2014 e 2024, houve um aumento de 471% na quantidade de cocaína apreendida e mais laboratórios locais que processavam derivados da cocaína foram desmantelados.

The figure could be even higher, as it includes only groups officially identified in Europe through police operations, transnational investigations and ongoing court cases involving brokers, active members, cells or operational networks.

It does not include gangs that lack a physical presence in Europe while working in “joint ventures” with European mafias.

View image in fullscreenSpanish customs officials in Vigo, Galicia, unload bundles of cocaine from a sailing boat that was seized with more than 2,000kg of the drug last month.

Fotografia: Salvador Sas/EPA Essas organizações construíram uma presença mais proeminente na Espanha, Portugal, Holanda, Bélgica e França, enquanto suas atividades também foram notadas na Alemanha, Romênia, Croácia e Eslováquia.

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (Gi-Toc) also includes Bulgaria.

Daniel Brombacher, a political scientist and director of the Europe Observatory at Gi-Toc, said: “There is something new happening with a presence of Latin American groups in geographies where there’s no pre-existing infrastructure.

Autoridades nacionais e especialistas latino-americanos sugerem que a lista pode ser ainda maior. Um relatório não publicado pelo Ministério Público de São Paulo, parcialmente baseado em dados da agência de inteligência brasileira (Abin) – que o Guardian analisou – mostra, por exemplo, que o PCC, agora o maior grupo criminoso do Brasil, opera em 16 países europeus, incluindo Reino Unido, Irlanda, Islândia, Sérvia, Suécia, Suíça e Turquia.

The suspicion that Latin American cartels and factions are seeking to become established in Europe is not new. Since at least the 1980s, Colombian criminal organisations such as the Cali and Medellín cartels had footholds in regions of Spain such as Galicia.

Em 2013, um relatório da Europol em 2103 alertou sobre o seu ascenso. Mas o que as autoridades estão testemunhando agora está em outro nível.

View image in fullscreenDrug traffickers near Boa Vista, in Brazil’s northern state of Roraima, in 2024. The First Capital Command (PCC) is South America’s largest criminal group.

Fotografia: Washington Post/Getty Um relatório da Europol deste ano afirma que “MTCNs latino-americanas [maiores redes criminosas ameaçadoras] também se estabeleceram na UE, de onde dirigem operações que afetam a UE.”.

This is particularly the case for mobile criminal networks involved in organised property crime.”.

Interpol, led by the Brazilian federal police officer Valdecy Urquiza, has been approached, but has not commented.

The problem has become more visible over the past decade. Drug production in Latin America in that time has increased roughly fourfold to reach a record of about 4,100 tonnes in 2024.

Isso vem depois de um crescimento de até 35% no início da década. Mais cocaína é produzida agora na Colômbia do que durante a era do notório traficante Pablo Escobar.

Nearly all the world’s cocaine and many related substances originate from Latin America, particularly Colombia.

He believes that the Latin American presence in Europe is even more widespread than is generally recognised. “Sinaloa cartel and the CJNG have a presence in more than 20 European countries.

Obviously, that does not mean they dominate or have large cells,” he says. “Rather, they are business emissaries.”.

View image in fullscreenSoldiers and police raid a house seized by drug traffickers in Duran, Ecuador, in 2024. The country has become a key trafficking route for drugs.

Photograph: Gerardo Menoscal/AFP/GettyThe UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s 2026 World Drug Report on illicit crimes states that global cocaine production in 2024 was between 3,800 and 4,700 tonnes – more than four times higher than it was in 2014.

A América do Sul permanece como o principal centro de produção, com o cultivo de coca abrangendo um recorde de 385. 000 hectares na última década — três vezes a cifra de 2014.

Europe has emerged as a key market because it offers organisations higher profit margins than the US. Since the beginning of the decade, European police have confiscated more drugs than American forces, and data indicates that Europe now represents about a quarter of global consumption.

Europol recently reported that out of 731 MTCNs operating across Europe, 149 are connected to Latin American organisations. Of these, 67 have Latin American members, and 22 mainly consist of Latin Americans.