🚦Organized crime is at a crossroads.
The 2025 Global Organized Crime Index shows that criminal networks are not simply expanding, but reorganizing around major global currents: geopolitical competition, technological change, conflict, democratic backsliding, and a fractured multilateral order.
The picture that emerges is one of growing adaptability and reach, contrasted with slower and uneven institutional responses. This asymmetry is visible across markets, actors and resilience indicators. But our statistical analysis shows there’s a way to fight back.
#OCIndex #OrganizeCrime #Governance #Policy #Data
⛓️💥 Our aim is to disrupt criminal activity and illicit markets.
📚 Our research is used by government, business, organizations and many others trying to make communities safer.
🌐 Our presence worldwide is extended and growing.
There is a lot of work to be done. But, together, we can build a safer future for all 🤝
Those in poverty often take loans for emergencies, but a small loan can become a life sentence of debt. This cycle leads to food insecurity, child labor, and loss of livelihoods, tragically pushing some to take their own lives.
Find out more about microfinance debt in Cambodia in the full episode of Mekong Matters in our YouTube channel
#MicrofinanceDebt #DebtCycle #Poverty #PredatoryLending
Over the last decade, organized crime in Northern Mexico has diversified, leading to a surge in environmental crimes. Since 2021, a drop in drug prices has further fueled illegal logging and extractivism across the region.
The most brutal consequence? The forced displacement of hundreds of indigenous communities from the Sierra Tarahumara.
Watch to learn more about the resilience of those defending their land against the changing face of organized crime.
#GIResilience #EnvironmentalCrime #OrganizedCrime #Mexico
Gunshots were heard in the Philippine Senate on Wednesday 13th of May. Senator Ronald dela Rosa had been seeking protection there, following a warrant for his arrest from the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity linked to the so-called "War on Drugs".
Former President Duterte, who was arrested in 2025, launched the "War on Drugs" to crack down on "shabu" (methamphetamine) trade, in which law enforcement and political leaders were often involved. However, public support for this soon turned to fear when people not directly involved in the drug trade were allegedly targeted.
Senator dela Rosa was the Head of Philippine Police and allegedly chief enforcer of the "War on Drugs".
Today, the country has a large synthetic drug trade. It scores 9 out of 10 on the Organized Crime Index, and ranks joint third globally.
#DelaRosa #PhilippineSenate #Duterte
How has Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine reshaped the criminal underworld?
In the first episode of our new 7-part Russian Organised Crime Series, leading Russia expert Mark Galeotti explores how the war disrupted decades of Russian-Ukrainian gang cooperation.
#Geopolitics #SecurityStudies #TransnationalCrime #InternationalRelations
Synthetic drug markets –prominently including synthetic opioids– are driving escalating and increasingly devastating public health consequences in West Africa, concentrated in the youth and marginalized communities.
Substances such as tramadol, tapentadol-based derivatives and nitazenes are among the most trafficked and consumed synthetic drugs across the region. Nitazenes stand out for their potency, with some detected in Sierra Leone estimated to be up to 25 times stronger than fentanyl.
Contamination of supply chains means people who use drugs often do not know what they are consuming, while severe limitations in forensic drug-testing capabilities leave the precise nature of the market dangerously unclear.
Find the full report and the Accra Call to Action in globalinitiative.net
#WestAfrica #DrugPolicy #SyntheticDrugs
In Belém, climate action is being shaped through collaboration across all levels of government.
Addressing environmental challenges — particularly in the Amazon region — requires coordinated public policy, shared responsibility and continuous dialogue. Municipal, state and federal actors are working together to advance a common agenda, recognizing both the urgency and the scale of the task.
At the same time, cities are looking beyond their borders. Learning from peers and exchanging experiences is essential to building effective responses to challenges that are often shared across regions.
Through the Cities and Regions United for Biodiversity initiative, cities like Belém are coming together to align efforts, strengthen cooperation and develop collective solutions to protect biodiversity and address climate risks.
Organized crime in the Mekong operates through interconnected systems.
This carousel presents key insights from Mekong Risk Monitor – Issue #2, focusing on how illicit economies intersect with infrastructure, financial systems, and governance:
• Laos: infrastructure expansion and emerging trafficking risks
• Cambodia: methamphetamine markets and patterns of access
• Thailand: mule accounts and cyber-enabled money laundering
• Vietnam: regulatory changes and the role of independent oversight
Addressing these challenges requires responses that go beyond enforcement, and consider the broader systems in which they operate.
👉 Explore the carousel to learn more .
#MekongRegion #OrganizedCrime #WildlifeTrafficking #CyberScam #GITOC
In Limón, Costa Rica, local leadership is showing how environmental action and community resilience go hand in hand.
Protecting rivers and coastal ecosystems is not only about conservation — it’s also about strengthening communities. Through clean-up efforts, waste recovery and volunteer-driven initiatives, cities can build a stronger social fabric while raising awareness about the importance of environmental stewardship.
These efforts are also closely linked to safety and prevention. Addressing the impacts of illegal economies is part of creating cleaner, more secure and more resilient urban spaces.
Through the Cities and Regions United for Biodiversity initiative, cities like Limón are demonstrating how local action can contribute to protecting biodiversity while fostering safer and more inclusive communities.
While global attention has largely focused on South East Asia, a parallel ecosystem has been taking shape across Eurasia, one that is increasingly sophisticated, adaptive and widespread.
This carousel unpacks how the region has emerged as a key hub for scam call centres, examining the shared tactics, transnational networks and enabling environments that sustain this activity. It also explores the growing role of AI and the geopolitical dynamics that continue to reshape the landscape.
Swipe through to understand how this system operates, and why current responses may be falling short.
Ten journalists. One shared mission: reporting on organized crime while documenting resilience in Mexico.
Under the theme “Journalism facing security challenges in Mexico,” this cohort brings together voices with decades of experience, courage, and commitment to truth.
Swipe through to meet Our 2026 Resilience Fellows 👉
From investigations into environmental defense and corruption, to documenting human rights violations and community resistance; their work sheds light where it’s needed most.
#Mexico #OrganizedCrime #HumanRights #GITOC #GIResilience
