Organised Crime and Human Trafficking: A Threat to Urban Security
Organised Crime and Human Trafficking: A Threat to Urban Security

Summary/Abstract: Armed conflicts have evolved from conventional inter-state wars into complex asymmetric confrontations, involving a wide range of non-state actors, such as terrorist and criminal organisations (e.g., Boko Haram, Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, Baja California Cartel, or the Camorra). Among these, organised criminal groups and violent networks have become critical actors, shaping not only security dynamics, but also migration and refugee flows. Through activities such as human trafficking, migrant smuggling and other forms of transnational organised crime, these groups exploit instability, generate illicit profits, and exacerbate the vulnerabilities of immigrants. Illustrative cases, such as the Medellín Cartel’s bombing of an Avianca flight in 1989, the assassination of Mexican Cardinal Posadas Ocampo in 1993, and the murders of Judge Giovanni Falcone and Prosecutor Paolo Borsellino by the Italian Mafia in 1992, reveal how criminal networks operate within the nexus of violence, political fragility, and human mobility. The International Criminal Court (ICC) demonstrates how non-state actors exploit conflict for profit, including through human trafficking and organised crime. Cases such as Darfur (Sudan) and the Lord’s Resistance Army (Uganda) show how these networks drive displacement, placing pressure on urban areas hosting migrants and refugees, illustrating how such crimes exacerbate urban insecurity and migration pressure.

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