Alphonse Gabriel Capone (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), also known by the nickname “Scarface”, was an American gangster and businessman who rose to prominence during the Prohibition era as co-founder and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1925 to 1931. His seven-year reign as a crime boss ended when he went to prison…
Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera (born April 4, 1957), commonly known as “El Chapo” and “JGL”, is a Mexican former drug lord and a former leader within the Sinaloa Cartel, an international crime syndicate. He is considered one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world. Guzmán was born in Sinaloa and grew up in…
The Sinaloa Cartel (Spanish: Cártel de Sinaloa, CDS, after the indigenous region of Sinaloa), also known as the Guzmán-Zambada Organization, the Federation, the Blood Alliance, or the Pacific Cartel, is a major, internationally organized crime syndicate based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, which specializes in illegal drug trafficking and money laundering. The cartel’s…
The Ochoa Brothers: The Rise and Role in the Medellín Cartel The Ochoa Brothers—Jorge Luis, Juan David, and Fabio Ochoa Vásquez—were prominent members of the infamous Medellín Cartel in Colombia, which rose to power in the 1970s and 1980s under the leadership of Pablo Escobar. While Escobar is often seen as the face of the…
Jorge Velásquez, commonly known by his nickname Navegante was one of the sicarios of the Cali cartel. In the 1980s, Navegante served as Cali cartel leader Hélmer Herrera’s bodyguard, and accompanied him to Mexico and Panama as his boss oversaw relations between their cartel and Mexican drug traffickers. In 1989, he successfully infiltrated the Medellín…
The arrest in Colombia of a leader of a faction of the Venezuelan mega-gang, Tren de Aragua, has highlighted the organization’s little-known role in the drug trade. Colombian police arrested Carlos Antonio López Centeno, alias “El Pilo,” along with ten other Venezuelans in the municipality of Riohacha, La Guajira department, in northern Colombia, on March…
Hundreds of victim’s families took part in the demonstration which is marked annually on the first day of spring, 21 March. Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Rome on Thursday to remember the hundreds of people killed by the mafia in Italy and to demand justice. The “Day of Remembrance and…
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (December 1, 1949 – December 2, 1993) was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist and politician, who was the founder and sole leader of the Medellín Cartel . Escobar, also known as ‘the king of cocaine’, was one of the richest criminals in history. By the time of his death, he had amassed an…
The Medellín Cartel (Spanish: Cártel de Medellín) was a powerful and well-organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating from the city of Medellín, Colombia, which was founded and led by Pablo Escobar . It is often considered the first major “drug cartel” and was referred to as such; (a cartel) because the upper echelons and overall…
Gustavo Gaviria: The Shadow Behind Pablo Escobar Gustavo Gaviria Rivero was one of the key figures within the notorious Medellín Cartel and the nephew of legendary drug lord Pablo Escobar . While Escobar was the face of the cartel and gained worldwide fame, Gaviria is often seen as the “silent one behind the scenes”. He played a crucial role in building…