How Latin American Crime Groups Built a Foothold in Europe

Criminal networks from Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Mexico and the United States are active in at least 12 European countries, according to a four-month investigation by The Guardian published on 13 October 2026. The investigation links the rise in cocaine trafficking to Europe to the spread of those networks and their ties with local mafia groups. The Guardian

The finding rests on databases, police and intelligence agencies, and interviews with judges, prosecutors and experts from eight countries. The count is conservative. It includes only groups officially identified in Europe through police operations, cross-border investigations and ongoing court cases. That covers brokers who arrange deals, active members, small cells, and working networks. It leaves out gangs with no people on the ground in Europe that operate through joint ventures, or remote partnerships, with European mafias.

The Mexican groups identified in Europe are the Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG). The Colombian groups are the Clan del Golfo, the ELN guerrilla organisation and dissident FARC factions. The labels cover two kinds of actors. Some are long-established trafficking structures. Others are armed groups with territorial control over areas where coca is grown and over export routes in Colombia and Mexico.

The Brazilian groups identified are Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC / First Capital Command) and Comando Vermelho (Red Command). The other groups named are Venezuela's Tren de Aragua and Barrio 18 and MS-13, which originated in the United States. Barrio 18 and MS-13 are also widespread in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and, to a lesser extent, in Mexico.

The Latin American groups are most present in Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Activity was also recorded in Germany, Romania, Croatia and Slovakia. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (Gi-Toc) also includes Bulgaria among the affected European countries.

A separate, unpublished report by the Sao Paulo public prosecutor's office states that the PCC operates in 16 European countries. The report draws in part on data from Brazil's intelligence agency (Abin) and was reviewed by the Guardian. It lists the UK, Ireland, Iceland, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey among the 16.

The presence is not new. Since at least the 1980s, Colombian organisations such as the Cali and Medellin cartels held footholds in Galicia, Spain. In 2013, Europol warned that Latin American cartels were seeking to establish themselves in Europe.

The amount of cocaine seized in Europe rose 471% between 2014 and 2024. Over the same period, police dismantled more local laboratories that process cocaine derivatives, or refined products made from coca. The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) reported that total amounts of cocaine and cannabis seized in Europe fell in 2024, while its analysis says drug availability stayed high across all commonly used types. EUDA

In 2026, Spanish authorities with international partners seized 10 tonnes of cocaine hidden in salt. It is one example of concealment on the Atlantic route. The EUDA identifies countries in South America, West and South Asia and North Africa as major sources for illicit drugs entering Europe, including cocaine, heroin and cannabis resin. It identifies China and India as important source countries for new psychoactive substances, or new lab-made drugs. It reports India as an important source of synthetic cathinones and ketamine, which are also produced inside Europe, and reports that drug precursors and related chemicals, the ingredients needed to make drugs, are often sourced from China. Canada and the United States are listed as significant sources of cannabis products entering Europe.

Enforcement cooperation has grown alongside the trade. Europol-supported work between European and Ecuadorian authorities led to 20 arrests in a major anti-drug operation announced on 9 October 2026. Spain's Guardia Civil, Spain's National Police (Policía Nacional) and Ecuador's police took part. Europol

Reuters reported on 14 December 2022 that Mexican cartels and criminal groups in the European Union cooperate to move methamphetamine and cocaine from Latin America to Europe. Reuters

The broader context here is a change in business model, from shipping from afar to setting up forward bases. The Guardian's distinction between physical presence and joint venture describes two layers at work. Documented brokers, cells and networks inside Europe handle reception, storage, processing and onward distribution, while outside suppliers manage production and sea transport without permanent staff in Europe. For investigators, seizure totals alone give an incomplete picture.

Looking at what this means for European policy, geography is central. The concentration in Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and France follows established sea and logistics routes, while cases in Germany, Romania, Croatia, Slovakia and Bulgaria point to wider entry and transit points. If the PCC assessment of 16 countries holds, intelligence sharing between Brazilian prosecutors, Abin and European police services will be central to tracing money flows and precursor purchases, not only cocaine loads. The increase in dismantled processing labs already points to a need to target chemical supplies and technical know-how inside Europe, as well as bulk shipments at the external border.