Organized crime finances the Latin American left, as drug trafficking, political corruption, and international financing create a structure that supports regimes established in countries like Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela.
This is an alliance where both organized crime and socialist governments thrive due to the mutual support they provide each other. For instance, various NGOs funded by international foundations and foreign governments promote land invasions, facilitating organized crime operations and protecting drug trafficking networks.
Billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers are allocated to plans aimed at combating drug trafficking in Colombia—such as Plan Colombia and former president Santos’s peace plan—as well as funding for the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) and a series of non-governmental organizations that have become part of what they supposedly combat.
In Venezuela, the regime of Nicolás Maduro has proposed the creation of a special economic zone on the Colombian-Venezuelan border that would merely facilitate money laundering and organized crime.
Read also: Rafael Caro Quintero: The Twilight of the ‘Narco of Narcos’ and His Extradition to the U.S.
Alliance Between Organized Crime and the Left
Rodrigo Arenas, editor-in-chief of República.com, believes that the best way to describe this alliance between organized crime and the Latin American left is through the socialist governments of the region, mostly affiliated with the Puebla Group and the Sao Paulo Forum, which have been established from Mexico to South America.
The journalist points out that drug trafficking found a very fertile ground in these governments, which can be clearly observed by analyzing the drug trafficking route, from its origins in Colombia to Mexico as a bridge to its final destination in the United States.
In these two countries—referring to Colombia and Mexico—governed by socialists who are members of the Puebla Group and the Sao Paulo Forum, drug trafficking has increased unprecedentedly over the past two to three years, depending on how long they have been in power.
The High Profitability of Crime
Without dismissing the need to tackle consumption in the United States, Rodrigo Arenas emphasizes how highly attractive the significant profitability of criminal activity is for these leftist regimes operating amid chaos in these countries.
He notes that a large number of legislators in these countries are financed by drug trafficking structures with which they maintain alliances. “This alliance between socialist governments and drug traffickers is extremely concerning, as it only serves to undermine social peace in these countries and ruin quality of life.”
He also mentions the vast sums of money generated by drug trafficking resulting from the policies of the regimes that support them. They amount to billions that, moreover, do not pay taxes. “In other words, this is funding that is not accounted for, money that they can spend freely.”
The alliance between organized crime and leftist governments in Latin America has reached the point where drug traffickers help solve social problems in various municipalities, villages, and towns where they operate. “It is the drug lords who build schools, football fields, and finance social programs.”
Consummated Politics
Rodrigo Arenas expresses concern over how socialists shamelessly establish these alliances with organized crime, which is evident in Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia, to name a few examples.
He cites the case of Todd D. Robinson, who served as the Under Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) between 2021 and 2025, the agency that has managed the most money in the Hispanic American hemisphere, as it is theoretically the U.S. institution—besides the DEA—that is supposed to support the governments of these countries in the battle against drugs.
However, during his tenure, Robinson, who also served as ambassador to Guatemala for three years, forged a close friendship with Iván Velázquez, Colombia’s defense minister until very recently, an individual who is wholly socialist and has a political agenda that took precedence over security and justice. The friendship developed between them allowed the U.S. official to let drug trafficking operate unchecked.
He asserts that Velázquez, who was also head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), like Gustavo Petro, does not view drug trafficking as an enemy of society. On the contrary, he is that type of leader who sees drug trafficking as a source of financing.
Arenas notes that fortunately, the INL under the new administration of Donald Trump is no longer managed by figures like Todd D. Robinson, providing an opportunity to give the agency a new direction in the fight against drug trafficking.
More details in Sin Filtros: Narcopolitics: Organized Crime Finances the Left in Latin America