one of the best methodology to measure and compare the most powerful criminal groups uses the following indicators

1 structure

despite having been almost wiped out several times have always bounced back, rebuilding and further compartmentalizing their structure and increasing its resilience to all forms of attack

2 core leadership

some of the core leadership have been with the group since its foundation, or joined soon after, meaning that the group has senior leadership with decades of experience

3 identity

criminal structures all seek some identity, code or ideology to facilitate recruitment, geographic component, build reputation and brand, as well as ensuring loyalty; the most successful criminal structures in history have managed to create a mythology that has translated into a strict code of conduct with initiation rites

4 economic strength

this corresponds not only to the earning power of a criminal structure but the diversity of its criminal portfolio and ability to absorb losses such as drug seizures; money laundering capacity and penetration of the legal economy are also measured under this category

5 state penetration

organized crime has two main tools: violence and corruption, the ideal condition for a criminal group is to have the state not just leave operations unmolested, but actually protect them

6 threat or use of violence

violence and organized crimeare indivisible, in a market where there is no legal recourse to the breaking of agreements, the reputation for violence is a key element to doing business but a reputation for indiscriminate and terrorizing levels of violence while brings them immense credibility on the criminal stage, it also ensures they are priority targets for security forces

7 military capacity and numbers

as part of this measurement is not only the operational capacity of the criminal groups, but their armament, military training and the strategic application of violence

8 criminal alliances

In an increasingly fragmented criminal world that extends its global reach on a daily basis, the importance of alliances cannot be understated, now most criminal structures are networks, relying on multiple nodes to complete complex supply chains across the world and handle the millions of dollars that move in the opposite direction and the only way to prosper is to work with other criminal organizations and corrupt state officials.

9 territorial reach and criminal governance

most criminal economies require the control of territory, whichever criminal actors can control these areas are guaranteed control of the illegal rents they contain and equally relevant under this heading is how the criminal groups maintain control of these territories; the most sophisticated groups have produced parallel states, or criminal enclaves, where they exercise functions normally reserved for governments, like raising taxes or dispensing justice, control of such areas not only provide criminal rents, but a steady flow of recruits

10 longevity

the acid test for a criminal group is its longevity, If a powerful criminal syndicate is able to survive for years, or decades, this is a testament to its resilience, earning power and operational capacity