Militarization of Criminal Organizations as a Factor of Criminal Insurgency: The Case of Latin American Gangs and Cartels

Over the past three decades, certain gangs and cartels in Latin America and the Caribbean have undergone significant transformations, posing an increasing threat to the territorial integrity of states. These criminal organizations continuously implement organizational and technological innovations, which have contributed to their growing militarization. The aim of this study is to examine the militarization of criminal organizations as a key factor in their evolution into de facto political actors within criminal insurgencies and as participants in internal armed conflicts. Using examples from various Latin American gangs and cartels, the paper analyzes how militarization fundamentally differs from other factors influencing organized crime - such as the co-optation of law enforcement officials and the accessibility of weapons - in countries where conditions for criminal insurgency do not exist. This study argues that in the context of criminal insurgency, the militarization of criminal organizations enables direct confrontation with the state potentially escalating to a level where these groups pose an immediate threat to national territorial integrity. Consequently, these organizations can function acting as de facto political entities, creating conditions conducive to the outbreak of internal armed conflict. The paper also identifies the principal forms of militarization observed among criminal organizations.