The Complex Link between Migration and Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper examines the mutually reinforcing relationship between migration and organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean. We argue that mobility and criminal governance are part of an interdependent system in which organized crime generates displacement through violence, extortion, and territorial control, while migration flows create new routes for criminal actors to expand geographically as well as new markets that they exploit for profit. We propose a novel conceptual framework to account for this feedback loop and analyze the available empirical evidence through its lens, which allows us to both formalize the mechanisms linking migration and organized crime and inform policy avenues. While the evidence suggests that migrants as individuals are largely victims of organized crime, large-scale mobility can also facilitate the expansion of criminal organizations. We hypothesize that, by reinforcing incomplete narratives that associate migration with insecurity, the latter dynamics dominate the former in shaping public perceptions in the region and encourage restrictive policies that heighten irregularity and migrants’ exposure to predation. We show that information campaigns can partially correct seemingly biased perceptions and policy design crucially mediates the migration–crime nexus. Specifically, regularization and protection programs can reduce migrants’ vulnerability and organized crime’s profits, whereas deterrence and exclusion may strengthen illicit markets. The findings underscore the need for coordinated regional responses that combine rights-based migration management with strengthened state capacity to confront organized crime.