Fragmentation and Organizational Complexity of Colombian Criminal Organizations)
The article hypothesizes that the internal armed conflict in Colombia which was initially waged in the form of an irregular war has in recent years transformed into a non-classical war in the form of a criminal insurgency. In a criminal insurgency the state is opposed by non-state violent actors primarily highly developed criminal organizations that de facto pursue political goals when they reach a sufficiently high evolutionary level. The aim of the article is to show the transformation of irregular war in Colombia into non-classical war in the form of criminal insurgency. It has been established that many Colombian non-state violent actors including guerrillas and far-right paramilitary groups have almost completed their criminalization having lost their political and ideological motivation. Together with other criminal organizations they are fragmenting and becoming more complex corresponding to a signs of third-generation gangs and partly third-generation cartels. It has been revealed that a significant factor in the fragmentation of Colombian guerrilla and far-right paramilitary organizations is their demobilization. The emergence of criminal organizations is also due to the fragmentation of the pre-existing Medellin Cartel and Cali Cartel. It is concluded that fragmented guerrilla organizations and far-right paramilitary groups which subsequently transformed into criminal organizations along with highly organized gangs are able to de facto achieve or strive to achieve political goals including through control over certain territories of the state.
Keywords: Colombia, internal armed conflict, non-classical wars, criminal insurgency, irregular war, non-state violent actors, criminal organizations, fragmentation, networkization.