Regional Overview: Latin America & the Caribbean | November 2023

Colombia: ​​Violence targeting civilians in Antioquia reaches a yearly high

Armed groups’ territorial disputes in the Antioquia department drove a 64% increase in violence compared to the previous month, with at least 46 events recorded in November – the highest number recorded in the department in any month of 2023. Amid the fighting, armed groups have targeted civilians as part of social control measures and for their alleged collaboration with rival groups.¹ Notably, fighting between the Gulf Clan and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) 36th Dissident Front in Briceño municipality over the control of illicit crops has seen direct targeting of civilians and has displaced several families. On 20 November, members of the Gulf Clan killed a member of the local Community Action Board, who was also enrolled in the Illicit Crops Substitution Program, as well as a farmer on 23 November. 

Violence in Antioquia continues to bring scrutiny to ongoing peace talks between the government and armed groups, which had already suffered setbacks following the National Liberation Army’s (ELN) high-profile abduction of Liverpool football player Luis Díaz’s parents on 28 October.² While the government has held negotiations with the Central General Staff FARC dissident group and the ELN, the FARC 36th Dissident Front has not been part of the round of discussions initiated in January.³ Meanwhile, peace talks with the Gulf Clan have been suspended since its alleged instigation of violence during an informal miners’ strike in Antioquia.

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Ecuador: Daniel Noboa takes office amid persistent gang violence

Between 1 and 2 November, gang-affiliated inmates rioted in four prisons in the Azuay, Guayas, Cotopaxi, and Tungurahua provinces and held prison guards hostage to pressure penitentiary authorities to transfer members of an organized crime group to other correctional facilities. While the country’s prison agency claimed to have reestablished order shortly after, the event highlights the power organized crime groups continue to hold in prisons, despite successive operations to disarm them. Prison riots occur against a backdrop of heightened gang violence in the country, which has fueled a 121% increase in political violence in 2023 compared to the year prior. Violence has been exacerbated by the involvement of transnational drug trafficking groups, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel, which have links to local criminal groups such as Los Lobos and Los Choneros.⁴ On 14 November, a police officer was found dead in Los Ríos province with a narco-message allegedly signed by the CJNG. 

On 23 November, newly elected President Daniel Noboa took office following significant campaign promises to address insecurity. His plans include the further armament of security forces, forming a new intelligence unit to combat organized crime, and housing ‘high-risk’ criminals on prison ships.⁵ Shortly after taking office, Noboa revoked legislation allowing the possession of small quantities of drugs, with the stated aim of curbing drug trafficking in the country.⁶ With a short 18-month mandate, Noboa might favor militarization measures — which in other countries has shown limited efficiency — to satisfy popular calls for increased security. Such a stance would fail to address socioeconomic root causes for criminality and ramping corruption within state institutions.⁷

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Haiti: High-profile gang death reignites turf war between G-9 and G-Pèp in Cité Soleil

On 12 November, Isca Andrice – Belekou Gang leader and prominent figure of the G-9 gang coalition⁸ – died in unconfirmed circumstances, leading to an outbreak of violence in Cité Soleil commune. Between 13 and 16 November, members of the G-9 and G-Pèp coalitions clashed over the control of territories formerly under Andrice’s influence, resulting in at least 166 reported fatalities.⁹ The hostilities prompted a surge in reported fatalities in the Port-au-Prince arrondissement compared to the previous month and broke a truce agreement both gangs signed on 28 June.¹⁰ The death of Andrice also ignited a dispute within the G-9 gang coalition. On 21 November, alleged G-9 members killed Black Alex Mana, a self-proclaimed successor as head of the Belekou Gang, for his suspected involvement in Andrice’s death.¹¹ Alleged internecine feuds were also behind the killing of Tyson Samedy, a G-9 affiliated gang leader operating in Nan Rakèt in Cité Soleil,¹² suggesting that cracks in the coalition’s unity could lead to heightened fragmentation and violence.

Gang expansion and turf wars also continued to fuel violence elsewhere in the Ouest region. The expansion of the Grand-Ravine gang to Mariani, Leogane, led to deadly clashes with state forces.¹³ Meanwhile, at least 12 people died in disputes between the Kraze Baryè gang, led by Vitelhomme, and 400 Mawozo over the control of the Port-au-Prince eastern commune of Tabarre.¹⁴

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Mexico: Targeted attacks against journalists increase amid violence in Guerrero state

On 28 November, gunmen injured four journalists who were reporting on the killing of a bus driver in Chilpancingo, Guerrero. The event comes days after unidentified armed individuals kidnapped three journalists and their relatives in Taxco de Alarcón municipality. The kidnapped journalists were known for reporting on insecurity at the local and state level.¹⁵ The targeting of journalists comes amid a 32% increase in violence in Guerrero state between January and November 2023 compared to the same period the year prior, largely stemming from fights between criminal groups for the control of extortion and drug trafficking routes.¹⁶ While members of organized crime groups are often suspected of targeting journalists reporting on criminal activity,¹⁷ recent research suggests local political leaders may also target journalists, aiming to silence reports on local issues.¹⁸ Elsewhere, in Chihuahua and Michoacán states, targeted attacks left one journalist dead and another injured. Such attacks contributed to a general increase in violence against journalists in November. The month saw more attacks on journalists in Mexico than any other month in 2023, slightly surpassing the number recorded in July.

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Panama: Gunman kills two people during nationwide demonstrations against mining contract

Unrest triggered by the 20 October approval of a mining contract for copper extraction by the Canadian company First Quantum Minerals (FQM) intensified throughout November, with a 98% increase in demonstrations compared to the month prior. Workers organizations, environmentalists, and civil society groups blocked roads and marched in the country’s 10 provinces, claiming that the contract was unconstitutional. In Panamá Oeste province, a gunman killed two demonstrators when attempting to cross a roadblock. Meanwhile, the Ombudsman’s Office reported cases of state abuses of force,¹⁹ including an incident where military forces injured three protesters who were blocking access to the Rincón port, which the Canadian company uses. On 28 November, the Supreme Court ruled the law granting FQM a 20-year concession unconstitutional, finding that it violated environmental and administrative regulations.²⁰ Following the decision, President Laurentino Cortizo said he would abide by the court’s ruling and guarantee the controlled closure of the mine. FQM announced that it would initiate an international arbitration process with the government.²¹

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Trinidad and Tobago: Sixx and Rasta gangs agree on a truce

Targeted attacks against civilians increased by 50% in November compared to the month prior, amid ongoing gang rivalry. The killing of a member of the Sixx gang on 29 October sparked retaliatory attacks by rival gangs.²² Most attacks were recorded in Port of Spain and the neighboring San Juan-Laventille and Tunapuna regions, where the Rasta and the Sixx gang control drug and gun trafficking routes and extortion.²³ Following the attacks, on 18 November, leaders of the two gangs announced a truce. Local reports have suggested that police forces facilitated the agreement, a claim that the authorities have denied.²⁴ While truces between these two gangs have previously led to short-lived decreases in violence, security experts have highlighted the need for violence reduction programs and long-term security strategies to sustainably curb gang violence.²⁵ Continuous gang warfare has driven heightened levels of violence in 2023, reaching the highest level for any year since ACLED began coverage of Trinidad and Tobago in 2018.

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