Book Review: Transnational organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean: From evolving threats and responses to integrated, adaptive solutions by R. E. Ellis

• Author: R. V. Gundur
• Date: 01 June 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567720908044
• Published date: 01 June 2022
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Ellis, R. E. (2018). Transnational organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean: From evolving threats and

responses to integrated, adaptive solutions. Lexington Books. 223 pp. $100.00 (hardback), ISBN: 978-1-4985-

6798-1.

Reviewed by: R. V. Gundur ,Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

DOI: 10.1177/1057567720908044

Most book-length evaluations of organized crime are limited in their focus. Typically, they evaluate a

specif‌ic country or, perhaps, two and only a single type of crime such as drug traff‌icking, human

smuggling, or money laundering. These examinations seldom assess and compare multiple types

of crime, the various law enforcement strategies aimed to combat those crimes, and how organized

criminal groups exist across large but related geographical spaces like Latin America. Consequently,

those new to the topic must read through large bibliographies to acquire an understanding of the

diverse, and often interrelated, issues at hand.

In his book, Transnational Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, R. Evan Ellis, a

research professor of Latin American studies at the U.S. Army War College and member of the U.S.

State Department’s Policy Planning staff, provides an introduction to organized crime in Latin America

and—to a lesser extent—the Caribbean, areas of great strategic and economic importance to the United

States. Ellis presents straightforward, concise accounts of the journalistic and academic records, regarding

organized crime and responses to it, vis-à-vis many of the countries in the region. While each country does

not have the same degree of description and analysis throughout the chapters—primarily because there are

fewer published studies on many of the smaller countries and their concerns—Ellis’s book is a helpful

primer to scholars, journalists, or policy makers new to the subject.

Chapter 1 introduces the concept of transnational organized crime and shows the reader that it

encompasses more than the headline-grabbing activities of drug dealers and human traff‌ickers; it

includes, inter alia, weapons traff‌icking, human smuggling, illicit mining, and money laundering.

Chapter 2 focuses on the geography of transnational organized crime in the region. While it is a

pity that the book does not have maps—reading it with a map of the region at hand would be

helpful, Ellis describes how geography inf‌luences which crimes are committed and by whom, and

how those crimes bridge actors across international borders. Moreover, in reference to crimes that

produce products, such as illicit drugs or illicitly harvested resources, the chapter brief‌ly discusses

the impact these crimes have on the countries that produce the products, the countries that are con-

duits of the products, and the countries that consume the products.

Chapter 3 surveys various types of transnational organized crime groups, disaggregating them in

terms of size and purpose. Ellis classif‌ies organized criminal groups as “cartels,”“intermediary

groups,”“ideologically oriented groups,”and “gangs,”differentiating the groups based on their

scope of activity and purpose. This overview presents three truths. First, organized crime comes

in many forms, the most damaging of which challenge the control of the state. Second, most

actors engaging in organized crime tend to specialize in a small number of specif‌ic tasks over a

restricted geographic space. Third, policy makers and law enforcement must work in tandem to

Book Reviews

International Criminal Justice Review

2022, Vol. 32(2) 245-251

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