Years active | 1980s – present |
---|---|
Territory | Santa Cruz Department |
Ethnicity | Bolivians |
Activities | Drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, car bombing, assassination |
Allies | Medellín Cartel, Comando Vermelho |
Rivals | La Corporación, Bolivian government |
The Santa Cruz Cartel ( Spanish: Cártel de Santa Cruz) is a Bolivian drug cartel and criminal organization, said to be one of the largest in the country, headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. [1]
The cartel was responsible for multiple narco-terrorist incidents in the 1980s, including assassination attempts on Drug Enforcement Administration agents and bombing attempts on politicians. [2]
The Santa Cruz Cartel is strongly allied with drug trafficking organizations in Colombia, Brazil and Mexico, though is involved in various turf wars against smaller drug gangs. [3] Local intelligence states that members of the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) drug gang have fled the favelas of Brazil to Santa Cruz in order to escape the Federal Police. [4]