Today's post will take a different approach. Instead of a traditional book review, I will illustrate how assassinations/power politics within organized crime can have devastating consequences. These events can create violent power vacuums, leading to mass migration, extremely high homicide rates, and destabilization of regions or whole countries. For example, the current events in Haiti started in 2021 when Colombian mercenaries, alongside Haitian nationals, killed the then-president and his wife, paving the way for unrest and destabilization. The post will show how this happens by looking at three places where Organized crime has been reshaped due to Assassinations/power politics. The insights shared in this blog are the result of years of personal reading and study on organized crime in my own time. Articles and places to learn more about organized crime will be put at the bottom of the blog. While I may not be a certified expert, I possess a more extensive understanding of the subject than many others.

In 2020, the underworld of Ecuador was shaken to its core when Jorge Luis Zambrano González, alias “Rasquiña,” the then-leader of the Choneros, was killed shortly after being released from prison. His death led to a significant split within the Choneros, resulting in the emergence of the Chone killers, who were rumored to have allied with Mexico’s Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, a group recently labeled a foreign terrorist organization by both the United States and Canada. The other two groups to emerge from this split were Los Tiguerones and Los Lobos. This fracturing of larger organizations into smaller ones has seen both Mexico and Ecuador become more violent more players equals more groups trying to get a piece of the pie, and is a criticism of the United States’ strategy of dismantling large criminal organizations. It is important to note that when José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito, assumed leadership of the Choneros' relationships with Los Tiguerones and the Chone killers were repaired. Los Lobos was the only group that remained defiant toward the Choneros. Other prominent criminal groups in Ecuador's underworld include the Latin Kings and Lagartos. The consequences of this assassination have resulted in present-day Ecuador boasting the highest murder rate in all of South America, which stands at 38 per 100,000, with January 2025 recording 781 murders. Meanwhile, the city of Durán recorded 456 murders in 2023 and saw 470 murders in 2024. At the same time, other factors contribute to the rise in Ecuador's historic murder rates, a topic for another day.

Pictured here is Fito the leader of the Choneros he recently escaped prison in Ecuador and had charges unsealed against him in the United States

Zeljiko Raznatovic is not a name you would recognize. You would probably say Who the hell is that. Perhaps if I used his most famous alias, Arkan, you would know who I would be talking about. Arkan is said to have committed a massive number of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s. He was also a prominent figure in organized crime in the Balkan states, an underworld that intertwines politics, police, and corruption in one big web. So it’s no surprise that when he is gunned down in January 2000 by Dobrosav Gavric who happens to be a police officer in the lobby of the Continental Hotel, this creates a void in the Serbian underworld that will be filled by none other than the Zemu clan, who in 2003 will shock the world with their actions. One of the criminal enterprises up for grabs after Arkan’s death was the heroin trade, specifically heroin from Afghanistan and Turkey. They were also involved in the kidnappings of businessmen, both would be filled by the Zemu clan. Zoran Djindic was Serbia’s prime minister for 26 months. This came to an end when, on March 12, 2003, he was assassinated when a bullet struck his chest, killing him instantly. Former members of Arkans tigers were responsible for this assassination, while the world was shocked, swift action was taken to dismantle the Zemu clan. This again repeats the cycle of a power vacuum being up for grabs that sees a new, more violent generation of gangsters fill this void. The Zemu clans' dismantling gave rise to two clans they are the Skaljari and the Kavac clan. Their feud results in murders all across Europe.

Pictured below is John Lucas’s book that details the war between the two clans mentioned in the post

Last July, in 2024, saw the capture of the most famous Narco trafficker in Mexico, Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias El Mayo. An elusive figure in the world of Narco trafficking, El Mayo was an original member of the Sinaloa Cartel and by the time of his capture had been in the drug trade for over 50 years. I thought he would never be caught, so I was shocked when I saw that he was in custody in the United States. It didn’t take long for rumors to circulate about his capture. Was this a covert action by the United States? Did he turn himself in to ensure the safety of his children in America? Or was he betrayed by those close to him? When it came out that one of the members of Los Chapitos, a faction within the Sinaloa cartel run by the sons of El Chapo, specifically Joaquin Guzman Lopez, had betrayed the leader of the Los Mayitos, another group that falls under the Sinaloa Cartel, things started to change in the state of Sinaloa. El Chapo has 5 sons, 2 are in United States custody, two are still free, and one was killed in 2008. He also has two daughters. Revenge was not immediate by El Mayo's faction instead, alliances were set in stone, and in September, all hell broke loose.

Anyone who was a member of Los Chapitos was fair game, insight crime reported in its 2024 homicide round up that while Mexico’s overall homicide rate was down from 2023, from September to the end of November, there were 304 homicides to highlight even more how change in criminal dynamics drives homicides in the first six months of 2024 only 39 people lost there life in Sinaloa. According to an article from the Maztlan post, there were 147 victims in January due to this conflict they also have different numbers for the amount of people killed in September through December which is not surprising mass graves are stll being found in Mexico and Cartel gunmen are knowing for not leaving there dead after a gunfight. What is true is that the underworld in Sinaloa was drastically changed when the last of the old guard of drug traffickers from a bygone era was captured, leading to a massive internal conflict. The war in Sinaloa continues to wage, which is not surprising the conflict between the Sinaloa and Juarez Cartels lasted from 2008 to 2012 and saw over 10,000 victims. Some people ask me if Mexico will ever see a day when it is free from Cartels, and my answer is we can only hope and pray for the people of Mexico that one day we will, but until then, we can only hope.

In conclusion, the above examples highlight how one killing or capture can change the criminal landscape, while other factors can also have an effect example, President Trump coming to office and cracking down on people coming across the southern border, leading to a dramatic decrease in the number of people crossing the border. This situation creates a double-edged effect by complicating border crossings making it harder to cross. As a result, these groups can charge significantly more per person, leading to even greater profits and enhanced power for themselves. The links below are all highly valuable resources. I recommend every single one, and these are the sources that I consistently use to stay on top of organized crime in Mexico, Central America, and South America. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a post! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this type of content. Did you enjoy it? If so, would you like to see more of these posts in the future?