Last Wednesday (27), the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) hosted the international workshop “Organized Crime, Illicit Economies and Public Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean,” organized by the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) in partnership with Leme – Laboratory for Violence Reduction, the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV EBAPE), the Foundation for Higher Education and Development (Fedesarrollo), and the Organized Against Crime platform (World Bank Group).

The event brought together researchers, experts, and representatives from various institutions to discuss challenges related to organized crime, illicit economies, and the production of evidence for public policymaking in Latin America and the Caribbean. Among the participants from Leme were Joana Monteiro, Executive Director and Co-Founder; Julia Guerra, Director of Projects and Research and Co-Founder; Vinicius Peçanha, Area Lead and Project Lead; Yasmin Santos, Communications Officer; and Mathias Lusquinos and Ana Figueiredo, Public Policy Analysts.

The workshop was opened by Joana Monteiro, professor at FGV EBAPE and Executive Director and Co-Founder of Leme, Carlos Charme, CAF Representative in Brazil, and Marcela Meléndez, Executive Director of Fedesarrollo. Their opening remarks situated the event within a broader agenda of knowledge production on organized crime, illicit economies, and their impacts on development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Following the opening session, discussions were organized around three thematic tracks: the measurement of organized crime, extortion, and illegal mining.

The first session brought together Joana Monteiro, Daniel Mejía of Universidad de los Andes, Diego Sanjurjo of Uruguay’s Ministry of the Interior and Universidad Católica del Uruguay, and Edgar Bustos of Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography, with moderation by Marcela Meléndez of Fedesarrollo. The discussion focused on the challenges of measuring organized crime in contexts characterized by limited, fragmented, or biased information, as well as the consequences of the lack of consolidated data for public policy design, the monitoring of illicit markets, and decision-making across the region.

The second track addressed extortion as a mechanism of income extraction by criminal organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The session brought together Chris Blattman of the University of Chicago, Eduardo Moncada of Columbia University, Andrés Rengifo of Rutgers University, and Jairo García of Fedesarrollo, with moderation by Carlos Charme of CAF. The discussion examined the scale, organization, and territorial reach of extortion, its economic and social impacts, the limitations of state responses, and the evidence needed to guide public policies capable of changing the incentives that sustain this illicit market.

During the discussion, Joana Monteiro highlighted the obstacles related to producing evidence on less visible illicit markets.

> “Extortion is more hidden than other illicit activities. We cannot easily observe how it operates, how much is charged, or the true scale of this market. That is why research and data collection are essential to generate evidence, understand the phenomenon, and develop more effective responses,” said Joana Monteiro.

The third track of the workshop focused on illegal mining, territorial control, and local development. The session brought together César Ipenza of Universidad del Pacífico, Estefanía Sánchez of the Center for Mining and Sustainability Studies at Universidad del Pacífico, Daniel Wiesner of Fedesarrollo, and Maria Eugênia Trombini of the Igarapé Institute, with moderation by Pablo Brassiolo of CAF. The discussion addressed the expansion of illegal mining as an illicit economy associated with informal production, regulatory failures, and criminal networks, as well as its impacts on local communities, the environment, and public governance.

> “State capacity is limited, especially in regions such as the Amazon. If countries do not cooperate and apply rules jointly, efforts to control the expansion of these markets are likely to remain limited,” emphasized Maria Eugênia Trombini during the discussion.

The event concluded with a synthesis discussion on the main issues raised throughout the day and the priorities for a regional research and public policy agenda on organized crime. Led by Juan Fernando Vargas, the closing conversation highlighted the importance of improving the measurement of illicit markets, combining different data sources, and translating discussions into concrete inputs for public policymaking in Latin America and the Caribbean.