Investigation Reveals Dozen Major Cartels Operating Across European Continent

A comprehensive four-month investigation has documented an unprecedented expansion of Latin American criminal organizations throughout Europe, revealing a fundamental transformation in the continent’s drug trafficking landscape that carries significant implications for transatlantic security.

The investigation, conducted through examination of law enforcement databases, intelligence agency reports, and interviews with judicial officials and experts across eight nations, has identified at least twelve major Latin American criminal syndicates operating in European territory. These organizations have established sophisticated partnerships with established European mafia networks, creating a transnational criminal infrastructure of alarming scope.

Between 2014 and 2024, cocaine seizures across Europe increased by 471 percent. This dramatic escalation reflects not merely enhanced interdiction efforts, but rather a genuine surge in trafficking volume as Latin American cartels have transformed Europe into a primary market for their operations.

The identified criminal organizations represent a roster of the Western Hemisphere’s most dangerous syndicates. Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartel have established European footholds. Colombia’s Clan del Golfo mafia, along with remnants of the ELN guerrilla organization and dissident factions of the FARC, maintain active operations. Brazil contributes the Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho. Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua has expanded beyond South America, while the transnational gangs MS-13 and Barrio 18, originally formed in the United States, have also established European presence.

These organizations have concentrated their activities in Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, though their operations extend into Germany, Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. The geographical spread indicates a strategic diversification beyond traditional gateway nations.

Daniel Brombacher, a political scientist who directs the Europe Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, emphasized the novelty of this development. Latin American groups now operate in territories lacking pre-existing criminal infrastructure, a departure from historical patterns. Recent police operations have uncovered Mexican-operated methamphetamine laboratories in southern France, northeastern Poland, and Brandenburg south of Berlin.

The documented presence likely underestimates the true scope of Latin American criminal activity in Europe. The investigation’s findings include only those organizations officially identified through police operations, transnational investigations, and ongoing court proceedings. Criminal groups operating through joint ventures with European partners, but lacking direct physical presence, remain uncounted in these totals.

An unpublished report from the São Paulo public prosecutor’s office, reviewed during this investigation and based partially on data from Brazil’s intelligence agency, indicates that the Primeiro Comando da Capital alone operates in sixteen European countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, Serbia, and Sweden.

The proliferation of cocaine processing laboratories within Europe itself represents another troubling dimension of this expansion. Authorities have dismantled an increasing number of facilities processing cocaine derivatives on European soil, indicating that Latin American organizations have moved beyond simple importation to establish complete operational infrastructure within the continent.

This development represents a strategic evolution in international drug trafficking. Rather than simply exporting product to European distributors, Latin American cartels have chosen vertical integration, controlling their operations from production through final distribution. This approach maximizes profit while minimizing vulnerability to interdiction or betrayal by intermediaries.

The security implications extend beyond drug enforcement. These criminal organizations bring with them the corruption, violence, and institutional degradation that have plagued Latin American nations for decades. European law enforcement agencies, while sophisticated, face adversaries with extensive experience evading and corrupting government institutions.

The transatlantic nature of this criminal expansion requires coordinated international response, yet achieving such cooperation remains challenging amid differing legal frameworks, languages, and institutional priorities across multiple continents.