938 resultados para organized crime


Relevância:

60.00% 60.00%

Publicador:

Resumo:

Title from cover.

Relevância:

60.00% 60.00%

Publicador:

Resumo:

Brazilians greeted the long-awaited decision of making Rio de Janeiro the host of the 2016 Olympic Games with tremendous exhilaration. Although Rio’s fantastic natural beauty certainly added to its attraction in hosting the games, its alarming rates of urban crime and violence largely associated with drug trafficking immediately triggered worldwide criticism, and put at issue its ability to guarantee the security for the games. Brazilians have been vying for a position as an emerging global economy and understand the importance of the Games for international prestige. This makes the stakes very high when hosting the Olympic Games in the wake of the 2014 Soccer World Cup, which will also be held in Brazil. This paper explores these criticisms and assesses Rio’s ability to prepare for this important event. The paper further explores the consensus that Brazilians will be more equipped to address actions taken by organized crime capable of affecting the Olympic Games than to face a terrorist attack. Brazil – and Rio – does not figure in the “terrorism map” as a region particularly linked to terrorism. Aside from uncorroborated suspicions of activities by terrorist organizations on the Tri-Border region (Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay), Brazil does not elicit many concerns regarding terrorism.1 Yet, there is no way to guarantee that terrorist organizations will not try to make use of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games to advance their agenda. This being in mind, Rio and Brazil in general face a long road ahead to prepare, prevent, protect and respond to a possible terrorist attack during the 2016 Olympics. It is clear that prevention and preparation towards potential threats to the Games must necessarily include cooperation and exchange of best practices with other countries. 1 U.S. Department of State has confirmed that this area may have been used to transport weapons and conduct financial affairs in the past. This type of activity has been made more difficult with the fortification of border controls in more recent times.

Relevância:

60.00% 60.00%

Publicador:

Resumo:

A difficult transition to a new paradigm of Democratic Security and the subsequent process of military restructuring during the nineties led El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua to re-consider their old structures and functions of their armed forces and police agencies. This study compares the institutions in the four countries mentioned above to assess their current condition and response capacity in view of the contemporary security challenges in Central America. This report reveals that the original intention of limiting armies to defend and protect borders has been threatened by the increasing participation of armies in public security. While the strength of armies has been consolidated in terms of numbers, air and naval forces have failed to become strengthened or sufficiently developed to effectively combat organized crime and drug trafficking and are barely able to conduct air and sea operations. Honduras has been the only country that has maintained a proportional distribution of its armed forces. However, security has been in the hands of a Judicial Police, supervised by the Public Ministry. The Honduran Judicial Police has been limited to exercising preventive police duties, prohibited from carrying out criminal investigations. Nicaragua, meanwhile, possesses a successful police force, socially recognized for maintaining satisfactory levels of security surpassing the Guatemalan and El Salvadoran police, which have not achieved similar results despite of having set up a civilian police force separate from the military. El Salvador meanwhile, has excelled in promoting a Police Academy and career professional education, even while not having military attachés in other countries. Regarding budgetary issues, the four countries allocate almost twice the amount of funding on their security budgets in comparison to what is allocated to their defense budgets. However, spending in both areas is low when taking into account each country's GDP as well as their high crime rates. Regional security challenges must be accompanied by a professionalization of the regional armies focused on protecting and defending borders. Therefore, strong institutional frameworks to support the fight against crime and drug trafficking are required. It will require the strengthening of customs, greater control of illicit arms trafficking, investment in education initiatives, creating employment opportunities and facilitating significant improvements in the judicial system, as well as its accessibility to the average citizen.

Relevância:

60.00% 60.00%

Publicador:

Resumo:

 Guatemala is not a failed state and is unlikely to become one in the near future. Although the state currently fails to provide adequate security to its citizens or an appropriate range of effective social programs, it does supply a functioning electoral democracy, sound economic management, and a promising new antipoverty program, My Family Progresses (MIFAPRO).  Guatemala is a weak state. The principal security threats represented by expanding Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), criminal parallel powers, and urban gangs have overwhelmed the resources of the under-resourced and compromised criminal justice system. The UN-sponsored International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), however, has demonstrated that progress against organized crime is possible.  The principal obstacles to strengthening the Guatemalan state lie in the traditional economic elite’s resistance to taxation and the venal political class’ narrow focus on short-term interests. Guatemala lacks a strong, policyoriented, mass-based political party that could develop a coherent national reform program and mobilize public support around it.  The United States should strengthen the Guatemalan state by expanding the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) and by strongly supporting CICIG, MIFAPRO, and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

Relevância:

60.00% 60.00%

Publicador:

Resumo:

The growth of criminal gangs and organized crime groups has created unprecedented challenges in Central America. Homicide rates are among the highest in the world, countries spend on average close to 10 percent of GDP to respond to the challenges of public insecurity, and the security forces are frequently overwhelmed and at times coopted by the criminal groups they are increasingly tasked to counter. With some 90 percent of the 700 metric tons of cocaine trafficked from South America to the United States passing through Central America, the lure of aiding illegal traffickers through provision of arms, intelligence, or simply withholding or delaying the use of force is enormous. These conditions raise the question: to what extent are militaries in Central America compromised by illicit ties to criminal groups? The study focuses on three cases: Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras. It finds that: Although illicit ties between the military and criminal groups have grown in the last decade, militaries in these countries are not yet “lost’ to criminal groups. Supplying criminal groups with light arms from military stocks is typical and on the rise, but still not common. In general the less exposed services, the navies and air forces, are the most reliable and effective ones in their roles in interdiction. Of the three countries in the study, the Honduran military is the most worrying because it is embedded in a context where civilian corruption is extremely common, state institutions are notoriously weak, and the political system remains polarized and lacks the popular legitimacy and political will needed to make necessary reforms. Overall, the armed forces in the three countries remain less compromised than civilian peers, particularly the police. However, in the worsening crime and insecurity context, there is a limited window of opportunity in which to introduce measures targeted toward the military, and such efforts can only succeed if opportunities for corruption in other sectors of the state, in particular in law enforcement and the justice system, are also addressed. Measures targeted toward the military should include: Enhanced material benefits and professional education opportunities that open doors for soldiers in promising legitimate careers once they leave military service. A clear system of rewards and punishments specifically designed to deter collusion with criminal groups. More effective securing of military arsenals. Skills and external oversight leveraged through combined operations, to build cooperation among those sectors of the military that have successful and clean records in countering criminal groups, and to expose weaker forces to effective best practices.

Relevância:

60.00% 60.00%

Publicador:

Resumo:

Small states that lack capacity and act on their own may fall victim to international and domestic terrorism, transnational organized crime or criminal gangs. The critical issue is not whether small Caribbean states should cooperate in meeting security challenges, but it is rather in what manner, and by which mechanisms can they overcome obstacles in the way of cooperation. The remit of the Regional Security System (RSS) has expanded dramatically, but its capabilities have improved very slowly. The member governments of the RSS are reluctant to develop military capacity beyond current levels since they see economic and social development and disaster relief as priorities, requiring little investment in military hardware. The RSS depends on international donors such as the USA, Canada, Great Britain, and increasingly China to fund training programs, maintain equipment and acquire material. In the view of most analysts, an expanded regional arrangement based on an RSS nucleus is not likely in the foreseeable future. Regional political consensus remains elusive and the predominance of national interests over regional considerations continues to serve as an obstacle to any CARICOM wide regional defense mechanism. Countries in the Caribbean, including the members of the RSS, have to become more responsible for their own security from their own resources. While larger CARICOM economies can do this, it would be difficult for most OECS members of the RSS to do the same. The CARICOM region including the RSS member countries, have undertaken direct regional initiatives in security collaboration. Implementation of the recommendations of the Regional Task Force on Crime and Security (RTFCS) and the structure and mechanisms created for the staging of the Cricket World Cup (CWC 2007) resulted in unprecedented levels of cooperation and permanent legacy institutions for the regional security toolbox. The most important tier of security relationships for the region is the United States and particularly USSOUTHCOM. The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative [CBSI] in which the countries of the RSS participate is a useful U.S. sponsored tool to strengthen the capabilities of the Caribbean countries and promote regional ownership of security initiatives. Future developments under discussion by policy makers in the Caribbean security environment include the granting of law enforcement authority to the military, the formation of a single OECS Police Force, and the creation of a single judicial and law enforcement space. The RSS must continue to work with its CARICOM partners, as well as with the traditional “Atlantic Powers” particularly Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom to implement a general framework for regional security collaboration. Regional security cooperation should embrace wider traditional and non-traditional elements of security appropriate to the 21st century. Security cooperation must utilize to the maximum the best available institutions, mechanisms, techniques and procedures already available in the region. The objective should not be the creation of new agencies but rather the generation of new resources to take effective operations to higher cumulative levels. Security and non-security tools should be combined for both strategic and operational purposes. Regional, hemispheric, and global implications of tactical and operational actions must be understood and appreciated by the forces of the RSS member states. The structure and mechanisms, created for the staging of Cricket World Cup 2007 should remain as legacy institutions and a toolbox for improving regional security cooperation in the Caribbean. RSS collaboration should build on the process of operational level synergies with traditional military partners. In this context, the United States must be a true partner with shared interests, and with the ability to work unobtrusively in a nationalistic environment. Withdrawal of U.S. support for the RSS is not an option.

Relevância:

60.00% 60.00%

Publicador:

Resumo:

Contemporary Central American fiction has become a vital project of revision of the tragic events and the social conditions in the recent history of the countries from which they emerge. The literary projects of Sergio Ramirez (Nicaragua), Dante Liano (Guatemala), Horacio Castellanos Moya (El Salvador), and Ramon Fonseca Mora (Panama), are representative of the latest trends in Central American narrative. These trends conform to a new literary paradigm that consists of an amalgam of styles and discourses, which combine the testimonial, the historical, and the political with the mystery and suspense of noir thrillers. Contemporary Central American noir narrative depicts the persistent war against social injustice, violence, criminal activities, as well as the new technological advances and economic challenges of the post-war neo-liberal order that still prevails throughout the region. ^ Drawing on postmodernism theory proposed by Ihab Hassan, Linda Hutcheon and Brian MacHale, I argued that the new Central American literary paradigm exemplified by Sergio Ramirez's El cielo llora por mí, Dante Liano's El hombre de Montserrat, Horacio Castellanos Moya's El arma en el hombre and La diabla en el espejo , and Ramon Fonseca Mora's El desenterrador, are highly structured novels that display the characteristic marks of postmodern cultural expression through their ambivalence, which results from the coexistence of multiple styles and conflicting ideologies and narrative trends. The novels analyzed in this dissertation make use of a noir sensitivity in which corruption, decay and disillusionment are at their core to portray the events that shaped the modern history of the countries from which they emerge. The revolutionary armed struggle, the state of terror imposed by military regimes and the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime, are among the major themes of these contemporary works of fiction, which I have categorized as perfect examples of the post-revolutionary post-modernism Central American detective fiction at the turn of the 21st century.^

Relevância:

60.00% 60.00%

Publicador:

Resumo:

El artículo pretende ofrecer una introducción explicativa sobre la tipología de relaciones posibles en el ámbito criminal organizado, los modelos de organización y su movilidad geográfica, a través de la conjunción de las disciplinas de la criminología, la geopolítica y la inteligencia criminal. El estudio persigue un doble objetivo: por un lado, aportar una reflexión que favorezca la apertura de líneas de investigación sobre la diversidad morfológica de las organizaciones criminales, las alianzas forjadas entre ellas, así como su expansión territorial, por otro, maximizar el conocimiento obtenido para apoyar la adopción de decisiones estratégicas, de políticas públicas y la detección de vulnerabilidades explotables para el desarrollo de estrategias de intervención.

Relevância:

60.00% 60.00%

Publicador:

Resumo:

El terrorismo es considerado en la Estrategia Global para la Política Exterior y de Seguridad de la UE como una de las principales amenazas a la seguridad de la Unión Europea. La lucha contra el terrorismo ha dado sus frutos en los últimos quince años, pero este artículo analiza la nueva Estrategia y se pregunta si será suficiente para responder con eficacia a esta amenaza y si se están empleando todos los medios necesarios para atajarla.

Relevância:

60.00% 60.00%

Publicador:

Resumo:

This paper aims to conceptualise trafficking in human beings (THB) as an organised crime by drawing on the rational choice theory. Utilising crime scripting principles, it proposes trafficking schematics to capture and visualise THB in its entirety. Stemming from its transnational nature and varying conceptualisations, combatting THB faces challenges, such as the lack of harmonisation of policy instruments and differing stakeholder agendas. To mitigate these challenges, this paper proposes trafficking schematics. Their core lies in the modelling of THB constituent elements, including stages and their sequence, key actors and relationships, and financial modus operandi. Trafficking schematics may therefore contribute to addressing THB in a holistic, dynamic and integrated way, by enriching stakeholders’ understanding of the phenomenon and facilitating collaboration to address it. The paper contributes to theory and practice by drawing up a model of the procedural, human, logistical and environmental elements of THB that may be viewed as an instrument of public value creation.

Relevância:

60.00% 60.00%

Publicador:

Resumo:

Objectifs. Les objectifs de ce mémoire sont au nombre de deux. Le premier objectif est scindé en deux : l’objectif 1A est d’évaluer l’apport et la validité/fiabilité de l’analyse descriptive des règlements de compte amorcée par Cordeau dans sa thèse de doctorat de 1991 puis d’étendre la portée de cette analyse descriptive de part et d’autre des années 1970-1986. Ceci sera fait afin de voir si les règlements de compte de la période de Cordeau diffèrent de notre ensemble; l’objectif 1B est d’évaluer différents taux afin de voir lesquels nous permettent de mieux comprendre les grandes tendances des règlements de compte et leurs vagues. Enfin, le deuxième objectif est d’utiliser l’analyse de réseau afin de confirmer certains points ressortant de l’analyse descriptive des règlements de comptes et d’analyser la structure sociale du règlement de compte au Québec entre 1953 et 2013. Méthodologie. En faisant appel à Allô Police et plusieurs autres sources médiatiques, nous avons constitué une base de données des règlements de comptes québécois entre de 1953 à 2013. Nos analyses font appel à une approche holistique qui intègre à la fois l’analyse statistique descriptive, les tableaux croisés, l’analyse temporelle et l’analyse de réseau afin de bien cerner la question des règlements de compte. Résultats. Nos principaux résultats sont au nombre de quatre: 1) les grandes tendances qu’avait trouvées Cordeau entre 1970-1986 s’appliquent pour l’ensemble des règlements de compte de 1953 à 2013. Ainsi, peu de variations importantes ont été observées entre nos règlements de compte et ceux de Cordeau ; 2) les taux alternatifs se basant sur la population carcérale ou criminelle ne permettent pas de mieux comprendre les règlements de compte par rapport à un taux basé sur la population générale. Par contre, les proportions proposées par Morselli et al (2008) amènent une meilleure conception des périodes d’effervescences du milieu; 3) les groupes criminels qui sont plus exposés à la violence sont aussi ceux qui ont le plus recours à la violence et; 4) les indépendants occupent une place importante parmi les victimes de règlements de compte et ont donc une place importante dans le milieu criminel. Conclusion. Nos résultats font état du besoin d’intégrer différentes approches théoriques et méthodologiques afin de bien cerner la question complexe qu’est le règlement de compte. Avec les avenues de recherches identifiées à la fin de ce mémoire, nous espérons que la relève sera en mesure de mettre à profit les apprentissages de ce mémoire.