SM1'S BLOG 4 U: Special - The "Victory" of the Urabeños: The New Face of Colombian Organized Crime (Web/PDF)

Weekly InSight | 9 May 2014

Special - The "Victory" of the Urabeños: The New Face of Colombian Organized Crime (Web/PDF)

The mad scramble for criminal power in the aftermath of the demobilization of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) is over. The Urabeños, or as they prefer to call themselves, the "Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia," have won.

The BACRIM and Their Position in Colombia's Underworld

The name BACRIM was created by the government of former President Alvaro Uribe in the aftermath of the demobilization of the AUC. Then-President Uribe was keen to draw a line in the sand, to avoid undermining the AUC peace process. For this reason, any drug trafficking organizations post-2006 were not to be considered paramilitary groups, but rather, "criminal bands," (for the Spanish "bandas criminales" – BACRIM).

This Week's Analysis

Security Successes Don't Add Up to Popularity for Mexico President

Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto has made turning the page on the violence of the past administration one of his foremost goals, but his declining approval rating raises questions about whether this strategy is working.

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