Illegal Economies and Transnational Networks of the Sinaloa Cartel with Colombia

This article examines the Sinaloa Cartel’s (CDS) expansion into Colombia between 2010 and 2020 through the lens of transnational network theory. Drawing on findings from official reports, key interviews, and specialized scholarship, it argues that the Pacific maritime corridor—between Nariño Department and the state of Guerrero—constitutes the principal axis of cocaine trafficking from Colombia to Mexico, before onward shipment to the United States. These networks operate through alliances and subcontracting arrangements with organized armed groups such as the Gulf Clan, FARC dissidents, and the ELN guerrilla, among others. The FARC’s demobilization following the 2016 Peace Agreement created a territorial vacuum contested by multiple armed actors, intensifying conflict in Nariño and expanding the CDS’s control over the cocaine production chain through direct presence and flexible alliances.

• المؤلف الرئيسي: Girón Galeano, Yeni (author)
• التنسيق: article
• اللغة: spa
• منشور في: 2026
• الموضوعات: Clan del Golfo; disidencias; Guerreros Unidos; hoja de coca; Indepaz; narcotráfico; Tumaco; Iguala; FARC; UNODC; organizaciones criminales; drogas ilícitas; grupos locales; subcontratación; redes transnacionales; nodos; Gulf Clan; coca leaf; drug trafficking; criminal organizations; illicit drugs; local groups; outsourcing; transnational networks; nodes
• الوصول للمادة أونلاين: https://revistas.iaen.edu.ec/index.php/estado_comunes/article/view/421