Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia that continues to threaten Europe
Nicola Gratteri and Antonio Nicaso analyze the evolution of one of the richest criminal groups in the world, well rooted in the Old Continent. From our correspondent in Italy Quentin Raverdy
Published on 02/12/2019 at 16:00 | The Point.fr
Heir to 18th century banditry in Calabria, one of the least developed regions of southern Italy , 'Ndrangheta is today a real multinational crime, generating tens of billions of euros in turnover thanks to its multiple activities (kidnapping, drug trafficking, financial investments, etc.). At his service: more than 140 clans and nearly 6,000 affiliates whose appetite has long since crossed the borders of Calabria and Italy to conquer Europe . On the Old Continent, the Calabrian mafia reinvests the lucrative income of its various trades in the legal economy, the nose and the beard of local authorities.
The 'Ndrangheta is today one of the most powerful mafia in the world, present on all continents, but also one of the least known. We are far from the image conveyed by her sisters Neapolitan (Camorra) or Sicilian (Cosa Nostra). An extreme discretion that is his strength, as his incredible ability to adapt to his time while keeping alive the rites and traditions that are the unity of families' ndranghetistes . Nicola Gratteri, a famous Calabrian prosecutor (for thirty years under police protection), and Antonio Nicaso *, a historian of criminal organizations, decipher for Le Point the empire of 'Ndrangheta.
How has ' Ndrangheta become one of the most powerful mafias in the world today?
Nicola Gratteri: From 1975, the 'Ndrangheta started a phase of kidnappings for ransoms. There were 250 in all. Kidnapping money was then invested in cocaine trafficking. While Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia, had engaged in Stragismo (strategy of terror, Ed), the 'Ndrangheta, she sent men to South America to buy cocaine at the lowest price. This explains their power today: with these millions of euros, they were able to buy everything in Rome and beyond, not only in Italy but throughout Europe.
Antonio Nicaso: Today, the money of the 'Ndrangheta enters with an impressive facility in the circuits of the legal economy, there is no resistance. (...) She succeeds in establishing herself outside her territory because she always finds brokers, lawyers, accountants who will guarantee her money laundering and the reinvestment of her money.
Through your work, you show that 'Ndrangheta is not only a threat to Italy.
Nicola Gratteri: Exactly, it's a problem that concerns Europe. Today, while we are discussing, there are dozens of Ndrangheta cells in Germany but also in Switzerland , Spain or the Netherlands. But also in France , where, for example, the Stefano clan works on the Côte d'Azur. The mafias buy everything that goes through their heads: hotels, restaurants, pizzerias, real estate. They also buy bits of newspapers or televisions, which can then affect people's thinking. It becomes very dangerous .
You explain that 'Ndrangheta has an incredible ability to adapt, immersing itself perfectly in the globalized economy.
N.G .: Yes, today, it offers opportunities to the market. That is to say, it succeeds, for example, in providing services at very advantageous prices by providing companies with cheap, hired and underpaid labor. It is like the Chinese when they produce at a low cost and compete with Europeans and Americans.
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A force of adaptation that she applies even within her organization?
A. N .: Ndrangheta becomes more and more post-Fordist in the management of resources. For example, we observe how this mafia now outsources some of its activities to minor groups. The Albanian clans have been dubbed by the 'Ndrangheta and are now busy organizing cocaine shipments from Latin America.
You advance in your last book that 'Ndrangheta is today less violent. Why ?
A. N .: Ndrangheta is now more in the control and management of territory than in subversive violence. She understood the mistake made in Duisburg (a violent settling of accounts between clans, in full street, in 2007, Ed). The people and legislators only notice the existence of mafias when they use violence. So the 'Ndrangheta seeks to' use less arms' not to create a social alarm, which eventually anesthetize the collective conscience against the mafia. Unlike what was done by Cosa Nostra in Sicily or the Camorra in Naples.
The Calabrian Mafia evolves permanently, also on questions of manners. You are addressing the issue of homosexuality, why?
A. N .: Let's say that before it was unthinkable to have a homosexual orientation because one of the conditions was precisely to show himself as "a man". Today, we have seen in our investigations some bosses assert their homosexuality even if they avoided revealing it to others for fear of being killed. Or the example of another arrested boss who has found love letters from one of his affiliates. This continues to be a taboo but this situation is starting to emerge. These elements show that, although it is slower than in society, 'Ndrangheta evolves.
Despite this permanent search for modernity, does' Ndrangheta draw its strength from tradition?
A. N .: Yes. One of its great strengths lies in its ability to combine new and old, tradition and innovation. The most powerful mafias in the world are those who do not neglect their traditions. In 'Ndrangheta, rookies initiation rites, symbols, founding myths are extremely strong elements of unity and identity.
In your opinion, could Europe do more against Calabrian crime?
N. G.: Yes. Because 'Ndrangheta takes advantage of the differences in legislation between the countries of Europe. Italian law against the mafia is the most advanced in the world. But, unfortunately, the tragedy is that other European countries are not equipped from the point of view of law to fight the mafias. And it would require greater awareness on the part of politicians. Unfortunately, our Europe is too weak.
A. N .: While 'Ndrangheta is globalizing, action against the Mafia is struggling to internationalize. It is not enough to fight the 'Ndrangheta in Italy or to hope in the repentance of some children of' ndranghetistes. What we would like is a global anti-'Ndrangheta fight.
In Italy, to fight against the Mafia, the repressive answer is it sufficient? The question of employment, especially in Calabria, is it not essential?
A. N .: It is clear that the 'Ndrangheta tries to somehow condition the territory but especially to guarantee the minimum welfare, which becomes a constraint, a submission. (...) So, when it comes to fighting the 'Ndrangheta, we must not only think about handcuffs and prison sentences, we must also think about school, about education. Also think about the possibility of finding a job, fighting unemployment, which often becomes a reservoir in which criminal organizations seek labor. (...) But this requires attention and a political will that unfortunately do not exist at the moment. The last elections in Italy showed one thing: the fight against the mafia was not part of the
* Authors of many books on 'Ndrangheta, they publish this month (in Italian) La Rete degli invisibili at Mondadori.
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