Women and Organized Crime in Latin America: Beyond Victims or Victimizers

From cooks and coca harvesters to owners of their drug empires or trafficking and smuggling networks, women operate in a versatile manner, challenging traditional stereotypes about how they participate in criminal groups.

This investigation by InSight Crime and Universidad del Rosario’s Colombian Organized Crime Observatory reveals the complexity of female roles inside organized crime and questions the tendency to present women only as victims, or in some cases, as victimizers.