The Amazon Tri-Border Region
Brazil, Colombia, and Peru’s borders converge in the Amazon rainforest, a unique area known as the Amazon’s Tri-Border region (or Tres Fronteras).* This region includes a vast rainforest, river networks, flourishing ecosystems, and urban centres–Tabatinga in Brazil, Leticia in Colombia, and Santa Rosa de Yavari in Peru being the main ones. Furthermore, it is home to various Indigenous communities, such as the Kokama and Tikuna.
The region’s remoteness, and the limited state presence, make the Amazon tri-border region susceptible to illicit activities and criminal governance. Gold mining, illegal timber smuggling, drug production, wildlife trafficking, and indigenous community exploitation are among the main issues. Various criminal actors are involved, from Brazilian organized crime groups, like Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), to Colombian ex-Revolutionary Army (FARC) forces.
Efforts to combat organized crime in the area are multifaceted, yet subject to great geographical and political challenges. The Tri-Border countries have all deployed their security forces to some extent, and external actors and international organizations have even supported them. Nonetheless, the area’s natural features render it hard to govern, and corruption issues have been long widespread. Organized crime and illicit activities thrive in the Amazon Tri-Border region; this article will briefly unpack their features and explain programs attempting to deal with them.
*Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay form a second tri-border region in South America that is known for terrorist and other illicit activities. Often referred to as “Tri-Border Area” or “TBA,” this region will be the subject of a separate Grey Dynamic’s article in the coming weeks.
1 Evolution of Organized Crime in the Amazon Tri-Border
As introduced above, in the middle of a porous and unchecked border region lies an untouched, strategically located area. In the 1980s, it attracted organized crime, present ever since. The Colombian drug cartels (including Cali and Medellin) initiated the activities, using the region as a stopover for the transportation of cocaine through the Amazon River towards the core city of Manaus, from which drugs can be redirected toward European markets. The cities of Leticia (Colombia) and Tabatinga (Brazil) played a crucial role as transit points for traffickers. Local figures, such as criminal boss Evaristo Porra known as “Don Porra” in Leticia, facilitated operations while maintaining a low profile and keeping violence to a minimum, avoiding local sales.
The 90s collapse of the Medellin and Cali cartels changed things in the area. Don Porras reached various agreements with Colombian and Brazilian criminal actors during the decade. On the Colombian side, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group looked for someone to transport their drugs. From Brazil, the Comando Vermelho (CV) expanded its operations, and the rival Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) followed suit. By the early 2000s, these larger transnational criminal actors were coordinating with each other and linking with suppliers, bypassing local leaders such as Porras.
In the past decade, competition between relevant groups–such as PC, CVV, FARC, and their affiliates–was an important feature of the tri-border area. The constellation of actors enacted prison massacres, drug trafficking schemes, wildlife trading, fought turf wars, and published “decrees” functioning as murder lists.
1.1 Key Criminal Organisations in the Tri-Border
1.1.1 Colombian Guerrilla
Colombian Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez points out that illegal armed organizations earn much of their income through drug trafficking and illegal mining. The actors he speaks about, as of May 2024, are the National Liberation Army (ELN) armed group, the Clan del Golfo criminal gang, and two factions born from the FARC demobilization of 2016. FARC was extensively involved in illicit activities in the area, and it is likely that similar Colombian actors have taken over its business, at least partly. Nonetheless, currently, the main protagonists of illegal activities in the area seem to be Brazil’s major crime syndicates.
1.1.2 Brazilian Organised Crime
Brazil’s main criminal organizations, PCC and CV, began the expansion of their activities in the Amazon’s tri-border area in the 1990s and 2000s. The groups are originally based in Sao Paulo (PCC) and Rio de Janeiro (CV). To obtain direct links with Colombian drug suppliers, the groups moved into the region. Their efforts to secure trafficking routes and lucrative markets have been accompanied by competition and violence. The CV now holds the dominant position. Homicides have lowered in Leticia in 2023, but their number peaked both there and in Tabatinga between 2020 and 2022. Despite that, governance remains in the hands of organized crime, and illicit activities in the area flourish under their command.
1.1.3 Local/Hybrid Groups
The Familia do Norte (FDN) was born as a breakaway from the local PCC group. FDN was largely involved in criminal activities and embedded in local politics from 2013 to 2022, when it was dismantled. Among the reasons for its dismantling are the actions of Os Crias (The Kids), a PCC-funded local group that spread terror through assassination campaigns.
2 Illicit Economies in the Tri-Border Region
The Brazil, Colombia, and Peru tri-border area is a hotspot for a variety of illicit activities. The region’s environment, with dense forests and remote locations, is ideal for illegal activities. Such activities threaten environmental sustainability and the fabric of local communities.
2.1 Illegal Gold Mining
The most diffuse environmental crime in the region is illegal gold mining. The invasion of protected areas and indigenous territories (such as that of the Yanomami) causes deforestation, river contamination, health crises, and social conflicts. The CV is involved in and finances illegal extractive operations. Furthermore, the Brazilian Military Police is said to extort payments related to this activity. Dredging gold is popular among criminal actors, as it is easy to launder and highly profitable. A single dredging raft is estimated to collect a yearly average of over USD $850,000 worth of gold (based on the current international price). The main hotspot for this activity is the Puré River, which passes from Colombia to Brazil. Non-profit research groups, such as InSight Crime, suspect the ELN, ex-FARC, and PCC to be involved in illicit gold extraction to some degree–direct extraction, smuggling, or taxing the responsible groups for the activity.
2.2 Timber Trafficking
Illegal logging also has a significant impact on this tri-border area. The practice is most common in the Peruvian parts of the basin. It revolves around Peru’s Islandi,, according to members of the indigenous community. The amount and value of this activity are extremely hard to quantify, given its clandestine nature. Most of the product, once milled into planks, is legitimized and exported through illegal schemes. Illegal logging and trafficking are known to give birth to patron-like relationships between individuals and indigenous communities, such as the case of alleged timber patron Palomino Ludeña.
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2.3 Drug Trafficking
A major source of revenue since the 80s, narcotics trafficking in the tri-border region historically was related to Evaristo Porras, connected even to kingpin Pablo Escobar. Now, most of the trafficking of cocaine and marijuana is in the hands of the CV. The substances, especially cocaine, are mainly pushed towards the European markets, although there is evidence the product reaches Oceania, Africa, and Asia. The tri-border region also sees cultivation and production of coca and cannabis. Security officials agree that the cultivation of coca recently increased on the Peruvian border in the region. (Non profit organizations claim synthetic drug production may also be present in the area, but most studies and research focus on the cocaine and marijuana trades.) Timber trafficking routes, legal or illegal, are also exploited to move cocaine.
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2.4 Other Crimes
Excluding the above-mentioned illicit activities, this tri-border area is also home to human and wildlife trafficking operations, as well as forced labour. Vulnerable populations, namely indigenous peoples, are often exploited and lured into the inhumane working conditions of illegal mining and logging. Furthermore, the rich regional biodiversity attracts poaching activities. The livelihood of the area, human and natural, is challenged by such widespread criminal activities.
3 Responses to Organised Crime in the Tri-Border Region
3.1 Military and Law Enforcement
Over the past years, the Brazilian Federal Police increased its operations to fight illicit mining and deforestation. Among the successful initiatives, we account for the “Targeting Gold” police program, underscoring crucial advancements in the field. The use of advanced forensic technology and satellite imagery allowed law enforcement to track gold’s illegal origin in Pará’s wildcat mines in a 2023 operation. The events showcase the potential state forces may have in tackling illicit activities common in the tri-border area. Gold seizures in Brazil have increased by 38% in 2023, alongside President Lula da Silva’s return to power.
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Colombian and Peruvian security forces have also targeted illegal operations in the Amazon, dismantling illicit gold mines and disrupting criminal activities. The creation of the Colombian Counternarcotics and Transnational Threats Command (CONAT) in 2021 marks a move towards centralization against drugs and other illicit trafficking. The dismantling of Guainia’s illegal mines in 2022 also underpins the fight against transnational criminal organizations activities in the Colombian area.
Peru also intensified its fight through, namely, the “Environmental Protection Unit” in Madre de Dios and 2019’s Operation Mercury. The combating of illegal mining, timber trafficking, deforestation, and overall illicit activities in the Amazon region are evident missions for Peruvian forces.
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3.2 International Cooperation
The transnational nature of the Amazon’s crimes attracted efforts from external actors to enhance its security. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) collaboration with USAID, and a US treasury initiative from 2024, are programs attempting to strengthen the rule of law, enforcement capabilities, and judiciaries in the region. The US Treasury partnership with basin nations specifically addresses environmental crimes ranging from wildlife trafficking to illicit mining. Greater cooperation is developing, and transnational enforcement actions, together with improved legal frameworks are likely to be underway.
3.3 Challenges
Even considering the above-mentioned efforts, challenges remain. The geography of the Amazon naturally makes monitoring illicit activities difficult. Even if identified, enforcing and containing them are still more complicated. Corruption of local authorities, bribery, and lack of sustained political will limit efforts’ effectiveness. Criminal organizations seem to be adaptable, resilient, and flexible, filling the governance gaps and modifying operations in reaction to state strategy’s evolution.
4 Conclusion
The Amazon Tri-Border area continues to be a point of weak state control in which criminal organisations thrive. The area transitioned from being a direct hub for Colombian cartels to the multi-layered multi-actor crime system existing today. Brazilian organized crime (CV, PCC), guerrilla groups (ex-FARC, ELN), and local actors (FDN, Os Crias) now dominate the region. The result is a complicated network of various crimes: drug trafficking, illicit gold mining, deforestation and timber trafficking, and human and wildlife exploitation.
State and international responses seem to remain insufficient. Police and military are making progress in some operations, although they are regionally accused of corruption and collaboration with criminal actors. The future of this ecologically crucial region is at a crossroads: Will criminal rule prevail? Or will state authority finally take hold?
