Discussion – Global Organized Crime Groups

How does Columbian organized crime pose a greater threat to the United States than traditional organized crime groups?

Compared to the traditional groups of organized crime, Colombian organized crime tends to pose a higher threat to the U.S. for quite a number of reasons. While both groups are obviously involved in different illegal practices, the typical American organized crime groups have fear for government officials, law enforcement, and many other enforcement groups (Stone, 2016). On the other hand, the Colombian organized crime groups have managed to buy and fight their way to attain immunity from being prosecuted in Colombia as a result of widespread military, police, and government corruption. Due to such immunity, it is believed that it gives those groups the right to run rampant in the U.S., and this poses a danger to the United States. Also, the codes of discipline and honor that are present in the American organized crime groups seem to be lacking in their Colombian counterparts. Hire our assignment writing services in case your assignment is devastating you.

Also, the majority of current criminal elites from Colombia are not the ones controlling the extensive armed structure; rather, they are the ones that can move power and money and wield influence in both the criminal and legal worlds. The criminal elites of today are best embodied by the international traffickers keeping the flow of drugs (McDermott, 2014). They are popularly known as the “Invisibles,” who are the hidden cocaine trade dealmakers organizing thousands of tons of shipment of drugs while they live ostensibly lives that are respectable among Colombia’s economic and social elites. Colombia’s organized groups are also more experienced in business since the majority of them started as frontmen or money launderers from the previous cartels, such as Cali and Medellin. They have thrived and survived for decades by staying away from the dirty work and living behind legal facades that are carefully constructed.

While those criminal elites connect the fluid network of power and money, they have been able to establish some structures in the underworld that hold the territory, directly managing illegal practices and violently enforcing relations and rules (McDermott, 2014). In the current increasingly disintegrated landscape of crime, this role has been fulfilled by a range of criminal actors. Another group populating the contemporary underworld is a product of the recycling and fracturing of past underworld actors like the grand organized crime groups of Cali and Medellin. They have evolved into hybrid organizations that combine the personnel and attributes of armed groups, common criminals, and drug traffickers.

What are the similarities in the evolution of the Italian Mafia and Russian organized crime groups?

One of the similarities between the two organized crime groups pertains to the way both of them managed to achieve such durable forces’ corruption and private protection. Both of these business techniques and methods have made it challenging to extract illegal practices from society (DAELE, 2005). Private protection, at times known as extortion, is seemingly an important part of criminal practices. Both of these groups force individuals and businesses under threat, or they use violence to buy protection from them; hence, they manage to establish an ongoing dependent relationship. This strategy is distinct from the traditional organized crime perception in which the syndicates divert their attention to drug trading or illegal arms trading.

One environmental characteristic found in both Sicilian and Russian cases is the established availability of organized criminal groups that are practical, oriented, and respected both in society and among themselves (DAELE, 2005). Both of them have roots that extend much earlier than the established emergence of organized crime. They possess laws and rules that they abide by which do not correspond to the ordinary morality, thought, or regulations of the state. Both the Italian Mafia and Russian organized crime groups are not linked by family or ethnicity, even though the alliances mostly reach to a point in which the members family to each other; they are usually connected y profit-seeking, participating mutually in criminal practices for financial gain. The occurrence of fraternization takes place when an unchanging criminal group has a shared social network, either in a prison setting or a bounded, small territory. They tend to establish operational rules and impose their principles on the rest of the criminals operating in their jurisdiction.

A significant attribute differentiating the two groups from their counterparts is the way they both took advantage of fundamental transitions. It is essential to acknowledge that both Sicily and Russia underwent three distinct transition variations: economic, territorial/national, and political (DAELE, 2005). All of those occurred within a short period, making the society and state government uncertain and volatile. In both cases, organized crime groups were able to rapidly expand during the skepticism and uncertainty phases in the traditional institutions of law and rule, manifesting themselves as effective alternatives for the services which are typically provided by the government. This does not mean that the people turned to organized crime voluntarily or that they were confident with the group’s outcome; as a matter of fact, engagement with syndicates of crime was usually forced on them under the threat of ruination or violence.

Determine the reasons for the emerging Eastern and Central European organized crime groups. What factors have contributed to their growth?

Decades after the collapse of communism, Eastern and Central Europe has popularly been portrayed as an intersection for international organized crimes; the mafia’s meeting point from west and east as well as a criminal cooperation’s hotbed, enhanced by the creation of links of international crime between local criminal gangs and other external mafias that infiltrated that area (Hignett, 2004). In the late twentieth century, crime groups that emerged from the former Soviet Union immediately availed themselves and developed a petrifying presence in Eastern and Central Europe. In the year 1993, the United States Department spokesman, Irving Soloway, stated that Sicilian and American mafias were in collaboration with their counterparts in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to apply market development policies and strategic planning for emerging Eastern Europe free market and to not only develop but also to expand increasing illegal practices.

It was the collapse of socialism in 1989 and the transition process that followed, combined with the economics of the market, that gave room for organized crime to attain a real foothold in Eastern and Central Europe (Hignett, 2004). After the 1989 events, severe economic conditions, a liberal legal framework, weak enforcement of the law, a porous financial system, and unprotected borders combined provided a favorable environment for the development of organized crime in the area. Eastern and Central Europe countries were involved in a simultaneous and rapid “triple transition.” With every post-socialist government keen on implementing the required programs of reform as broadly and as quickly as possible, official surveillance of the process of transition was limited, and there were a lot of mistakes made with criminal gangs managing to exploit legal gaps in most the new legislation of governments in order to find new illegal income sources. For instance, the dual pricing system being introduced for various oil types in Hungary in the 1990s enabled several criminal groups who were collectively branded as “oil mafia” to import thousands of liters of oil cheaply and later sold at much higher prices. It was claimed that the Hungarian government had been defrauded by the oil mafia of approximately four hundred million U.S dollars as a result of these operations.

Also, post-socialist economic reform gave room for criminal growth via investment in the Eastern and Central European legal and economic sectors (Hignett, 2004). The process of privatization in each state in the region was dogged by corruption allegations. The scale and speed of privatization allowed organized criminal groups to invest their money earned illegally in real estate and other businesses, which gave the opportunity for more illegal practices or for money laundering. This resulted in the investment of “dirty money” in the economies of Central and Eastern Europe.

The criminal gangs also realized the favorable climate outside the Eastern and Central region and an influx of foreign mobsters emerged in the 1990s, and they saw that the area was a potential haven for crime. The countries of Eastern and Central Europe attracted crime groups from various nationalities because of their location in the heart of the continent, perfect for illegal transactions that involved both people and goods. The initiation of criminal practices in Eastern and Central Europe was easy due to the opening of borders that encouraged greater freedom of travel and trade after 1989. Criminal interest in that region was further raised by war outbreak in the former Yugoslavia.

What are the differences and similarities between the Asian and Russian organized crime groups?

The Chinese Triad and the Russian Mafia are among the most exceptional organized crime groups. The latter has more than 3000 members, while the former has a complex system of organization that enhances the group’s operations (Coriddi, 2007). The two groups of organized crime have various similarities. For example, both of them are highly engaged in the sex trade and drug trafficking. These illegal activities are executed by these groups via their efficient global networks. Despite having similarities, the Chinese Triad and the Russian mafia have several facets that differentiate them. For example, the Russian mafia is based in the United States and Europe, and the Chinese Triad operates extensively in Asia.

The Russian Mafia was founded in the late eighteenth Century in the former Soviet Union. By then, the group did not have as many members, and its practices were geographically limited. However, with time, the group’s membership increased, and in the early Twentieth Century, the activities of the Russian mafia became widespread throughout the Soviet Union (Coriddi, 2007). The growth of the group is widely attributed to the increase of the Soviet Union’s government. Financed by corrupt politicians and unscrupulous businesspeople, the Russian Mafia slowly started operating in other Eastern European nations. The Chinese Triad, on the other hand, conducts its activities mainly in China, but it has cast its net across the Fareast and the Southern Region. While it has a long history, the Chinese Triad’s foundation can be attributed to the Chinese monks and the peasants in the early Eighteenth Century. In an effort to get rid of the authorities’ social injustices, monks created groups for social harmony and self-protection. The poor strongly supported such groups, especially the peasants, who happened to be the victims of social injustice, and with time, the Chinese Triad became greatly powerful from a political perspective. Currently, the Chinese Triad has over one and a half million individuals, while the Russian Mafia has approximately three hundred thousand members. Such high rates of membership have been attributed to the group’s extensive criminal activities. Both groups are also organized into subgroups located across various locations.

The Chinese Triad and the Russian Mafia use different recruitment systems. For the latter, the recruitment process does not involve traditional rituals like oath administration, but in the Chinese Triad, such rituals are essential components of the recruitment strategy (Coriddi, 2007). It administers a total of 36 oaths in a carefully planned ceremony of initiation for every new member. This recruitment system has been used by the Chinese Triad for years. They perceive it as exceedingly vital with regard to the lifetime allegiance and loyalty enhancement among the members. While their Russian counterparts require allegiance and high loyalty standards from their members, they lack a solid strategy for spirituality.

To what extent do Mexican organized crime groups gain influence in the United States?

The Mexican organized crime groups tend to pose the most significant threats of crime to the United States, especially Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs). For years, these organizations have been known for having strong connections to money laundering, drug trafficking, and various violent crimes (Beittel, 2018). They have been involved in the smuggling of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, and many other drugs. The United States overdoses because of the consumption of opioids, and its record level sharply increased in the year 2016 after the Mexican criminal syndicates expanded their control over the synthetic opioid and heroin market (Ramsey, 2011). The major drug trafficking organizations and the newly organized crime groups have extended to other illicit activities such as kidnapping, extortion, and oil theft that have cost the oil companies of the United States billions of dollars. Mexico and the United States share an approximately two-thousand-mile border, and the two nations have historically close demographic, trade, and cultural ties (Beittel, 2018). The stability of Mexico is of great importance to the U.S., and the intensity and nature of violence in Mexico is of particular concern to the Congress of the United States (Buerger, 2015).

How does immigration impact organized crime on a global scale?

The organized criminal practices development among various ethnic groups has prolonged the concept that undesirable societal elements are disproportionately represented within the United States immigrant population (Ramiro Martinez, 2000). The common perception that immigrants are the ones who are often responsible for the increasing rates of crime has made it increasingly difficult for them to assimilate. At times, the immigrants themselves have become victims of criminality. Even though immigrants might not have been involved in crimes at a higher rate than ethnic population members already established in the U.S., numerous factors are responsible for the new immigrants being prone to committing crimes (Ellis, 2011). One of those factors is overall unfamiliarity with the laws and customs of the United States, often enhanced by the immigrants’ inability to communicate fluently in English. The majority of them arrived with less education and limited skills, factors that keep them in jobs that are low-paying.

Since the early 19th Century, immigrant communities have been the breeding grounds for organized crime groups in the cities of the United States. Often comprised of young men, these organized crime groups frequently preyed on immigrants (Ramiro Martinez, 2000). Irish organized crime groups roamed in port cities like Boston and New York City from the 1840s to 1870s, while Chinese organized groups wandered around many western towns. Jewish and Italian organized groups did the same in the South and East from the 1880s. While such groups were loosely organized and operated solely to provide immediate status or wealth to their members, a criminal activity version that was more formalized sprang up among the immigrants from the late 19th Century. What was later identified as “organized crime” was distinct from simple gang operations due to the fact that it was more structured like a business wherein the ones that rose to the organizational top were able to attain certain social statuses and could distance themselves from ties of criminality and become respectable people in the society. Often, this was achieved at the expense of immigrants from which they sprang.

A couple of men who took part in criminal activities in Italy were among the ones who were permitted into the U.S. during the period of forty years starting in 1880, the time when Italian Immigration was at its peak (Ramiro Martinez, 2000). In the cities where there was a spread of Mafia organizations In the 1870s, starting in New Orleans and shortly appearing in metropolises like Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, Legitimate activities of protection were changed into extortion rackets. The leaders of the Mafia organized rings of prostitution, and they set up numerous forms of gambling activities—often deceiving honest gamblers through different schemes that enabled the Mafia to retain a big chunk of cash wagered by bettors. Bodily harm, property damage, and also acts of murder were regular retribution forms practiced against the ones who protested or those who tried bringing in law enforcement in order to stop the operations of the Mafia. Even though systematic law enforcement efforts to eliminate such organized crime groups started in the 1890s, comparatively limited progress was made over the decades.

Apart from the Italian Mafia, there was another organized crime group that preyed on the immigrant communities: the Jewish Mafia, which operated in New York in the early 1890s and eventually sprang across other cities (Ramiro Martinez, 2000). The Jewish Mafia at times coexisted with Italian operations, and other times, vying with them to take control over different neighborhoods. While the Mafia’s influence decreased as the 20th Century progressed and the immigrant communities were becoming absorbed into mainstream America, international organized crime groups like the drug cartels of South America and Eastern European and Russian organized crime groups started to operate in the U.S, often preyed on immigrants in which contraband goods and drugs found willing buyers.

References

Beittel, J. S. (2018, July 3rd). Mexico: Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Organizations. Retrieved from fas.org: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41576.pdf

Buerger, S. (2015, December 15th). The Cartel and its Effect on the United States. Retrieved from wsu.edu: https://hub.wsu.edu/law-justice-realtime/2015/12/15/the-cartel-and-its-effect-on-the-united-states/

Coriddi, J. L. (2007). ORGANIZED CRIME AND ITS ORIGINS: A COMPARATIVE CASE. Retrieved from unc.edu: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/indexablecontent/uuid:75ed543b-23e9-4e90-af99-4ee105ea005e

DAELE, S. V. (2005). Fighting Organised Crime in Italy and Russia. Retrieved from ugent.be: https://lib.ugent.be/fulltxt/RUG01/001/223/325/RUG01-001223325_2012_0001_AC.pdf

Ellis, S. (2011). The role of organized crime in the smuggling of migrants from West Africa to the European Union. New York: UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME.

Hignett, K. (2004). Organised Crime in East Central Europe: The Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Global Crime , 6 (1), 70-83.

McDermott, J. (2014, September). The Changing Face of Colombian Organized Crime. Retrieved from fes.de: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/la-seguridad/11153.pdf

Ramiro Martinez, J. a. (2000). On Immigration and Crime. Retrieved from ncjrs.gov: https://www.ncjrs.gov/criminal_justice2000/vol_1/02j.pdf

Ramsey, G. (2011, November 3rd). Beyond the Border: Measuring Mexican Cartels’ Influence in the US. Retrieved from insightcrime.org: https://www.insightcrime.org/news/analysis/beyond-the-border-measuring-mexican-cartels-influence-in-the-us/

Stone, H. (2016, August 9th). Colombia Elites and Organized Crime: Introduction. Retrieved from insightcrime.org: https://www.insightcrime.org/investigations/colombia-elites-and-organized-crime-introduction/

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Question

Discussion – Global Organized Crime Groups

Instructions

In a critical, in-depth manner, compose a portfolio assignment about the global organized crime groups in different countries. Research the following organized crime groups, and then address the research questions that follow.

Columbian organized crime groups
Italian Mafia and Russian organized crime groups
Eastern European crime groups
Central European crime groups
Asian organized crime groups
Mexican organized crime groups

Research questions:

How does Columbian organized crime pose a greater threat to the United States than traditional organized crime groups?
What are the similarities in the evolution of the Italian Mafia and Russian organized crime groups?
Determine the reasons for the emerging Eastern and Central European organized crime groups. What factors have contributed to their growth?
What are the differences and similarities between Asian and Russian organized crime groups?
To what extent do Mexican organized crime groups gain influence in the United States?
How does immigration impact organized crime on a global scale?

Support your paper with a minimum of five scholarly resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources, including older articles, may be included.

Discussion – Global Organized Crime Groups