https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...raffico-della-ndrangheta-in-sud-america/global spider web
“Triplice Frontera”, the black heart of the 'ndrangheta drug trafficking in South America
Land of refuge for fugitives. Dense network of alliances with the main cartels and criminal groups. The snapshot in the Dia report
Published: 06/07/2025 – 6:57
ROME South America is confirmed as a profitable land for the 'ndrangheta's business in the international drug trafficking sector. An «essential» and «strategic» base and logistics center for the management of business, for which the Calabrian organization has been able to weave a dense network of alliances with the main cartels and criminal groups on the continent . A snapshot of the situation is taken from the DIA report on the activity carried out in 2024, which notes that the territory can be considered strategic for «international organized crime, whose complex networks deal mainly with drug trafficking, money laundering, without neglecting the aiding of fugitives». And in particular, the area of ??the Triple Frontera, which connects Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, has become «a strategic hub for drug trafficking, smuggling of goods and money laundering».
Alliances and Business in South America
The picture that emerges is that of a 'ndrangheta that is increasingly globally oriented, capable of forming strategic alliances, fueling a million-dollar business, thanks to valid relationships with local emissaries. In this strategy, Colombia - which has become a real stronghold for criminal operations - is used as an "operational base for shipments directed to Europe ". Here, the Calabrian organization has been able to build solid relationships in particular with the Gulf Clan and the dissident groups of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the ELN (National Liberation Army), which have control of the main cocaine routes that pass through Ecuador, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. While in Brazil the Primeiro Comando da Capitai (PCC) is active, which manages the flow of drugs directed to Africa and Europe. Ecuador , located between Colombia and Peru, has become " an essential logistics center for the management of drugs " which , thanks to various international criminal groups, including the 'ndrangheta, are destined for the European and US markets. Peru , considered " one of the most productive territories of cocaine in the world , records the presence of associations that actively collaborate with the Italian mafias to generate prolific profits in the drug sector". In Argentina , the presence of the 'ndrangheta and the Mexican cartels underlines the role of the country as " a crossroads of international drug trafficking, which exploits the waterways to transport cocaine to the global market".
Land of refuge for fugitives
The deep roots of the 'ndrangheta in the South American continent - emerges from the DIA report - also extends to the ability to offer refuge and support to its fugitive affiliates, as evidence of the close connection between the Calabrian clans and the South American territory there are the police operations and the capture of important exponents.
Among the fugitives captured and extradited to Italy is Santos Medina Familia , Dominican born in 1971, alleged drug trafficker at the head of an organization based in Rome with branches abroad. He was among the 100 fugitives considered among the most dangerous but was identified and extradited on March 4, 2024, at the conclusion of the complex extradition process promoted by Italy against the Dominican Republic.
Also returning to Italy in handcuffs in 2024 was 'Ndrangheta broker Vincenzo Pasquino , who had been detained in Brazil since 2021, the year in which he was arrested in a residence in Joao Pessoa by the South American country's federal police and the ROS Carabinieri, after a period on the run, while he was in the company of the 'Ndrangheta boss of Africo and drug trafficker Rocco Morabito .
