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State–Crime Cooperation and Extra‐legal Governance in Colombia and Venezuela

Author

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  • Jorge A. Mantilla

Abstract

This article examines cooperation in roadblock politics. It discusses how the border closure between Colombia and Venezuela from 2015 to 2022 and the subsequent bilateral tensions created a political economy of smuggling whereby state officials delegated basic state functions to organized crime groups in order to contain political dissidents and rival non‐state actors, to oversee illegal economies and to maintain social control. The roots of this political economy are instances of negotiated mobility that occur at checkpoints along the multiple informal border trails, where smugglers, organized crime groups and state officials interact. The article builds upon previous research on borders and extra‐legal governance in Colombia through direct observations, in‐depth interviews and secondary data. It contributes to the crime‒conflict nexus literature, improving our understanding of the rationales behind the arrangements that exist between organized crime groups and states at borders and expanding the research agenda on extra‐legal governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Jorge A. Mantilla, 2026. "State–Crime Cooperation and Extra‐legal Governance in Colombia and Venezuela," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 57(3), pages 599-623, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:57:y:2026:i:3:p:599-623
    DOI: 10.1111/dech.70061
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peer Schouten & Vanessa van den Boogaard & Max Gallien & Shalaka Thakur & Florian Weigand, 2026. "The Politics of Passage: Studying Checkpoints and Claim Making in Conflict‐affected Settings," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 57(3), pages 421-440, May.
    2. Michael Eilenberg, 2016. "A State of Fragmentation: Enacting Sovereignty and Citizenship at the Edge of the Indonesian State," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(6), pages 1338-1360, November.
    3. Andreas, Peter, 2013. "Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199746880.
    4. Vanessa van den Boogaard & Wilson Prichard & Samuel Jibao, 2021. "Norms, Networks, Power and Control: Understanding Informal Payments and Brokerage in Cross-Border Trade in Sierra Leone," Journal of Borderlands Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 77-97, January.
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