La Empresa, The New Company or The Enterprise (Spanish: La empresa, La Nueva Empresa. Portuguese: A empresa) is a Colombian cartel and a drug trafficking gang that is mainly based in Colombia. La Empresa is a relatively new cartel that formed in Medellín during the late 1990s.[1] The cartel was founded by Gerardo Santana Garza (also known as "300") and Luis Mendez,[2][3] Garza's brother Omar "The Gnome" Alejandro was also a major figure and member in the cartel.[4] The cartel is alleged to be a "breakaway" cartel of the Juárez Cartel, many of the Juárez Cartel members became adversaries of the cartel and from 1998 the cartel became very undstable. In 1999 many members broke from the cartel and formed their own gangs. During the early 2000s, the Juarez members and drug lords from contiguous Mexican states forged an alliance that became known as 'The Golden Triangle Alliance' or 'La Alianza Triángulo de Oro' because of its three-state area of influence: Chihuahua, south of the U.S. state of Texas, Durango and Sinaloa, a few other gangs formed along with the alliance. La Empresa formed during this time and was one of the gangs.[5]
La Empresa | |
| Founded | 1990s |
|---|---|
| Founder | Gerardo Santana Garza a.k.a "300" |
| Founding location | Colombia |
| Years active | 1990s – present |
| Territory | Medellin, Bogota, parts of the Amazon natural region, Juarez, Chiapas |
| Ethnicity | Colombian, South American, Latin American, Mexican |
| Leader(s) | Gerardo Santana Garza, Omar "The Gnome" Alejandro |
| Activities | Drug trafficking, kidnapping, theft |
| Allies | Juárez Cartel, La Linea (gang), Barrio Azteca |
| Rivals | Sinaloa Cartel |
The Enterprise cartel mostly operates as a drug trafficking cartel, the enterprise has a history of trafficking cocaine, heroin, MDMA, fentanyl, marijuana and more recently "pink cocaine".[6][7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "La Empresa, Aztecas gangs blamed for latest spate of violence in Juarez". BorderReport. 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ Borunda, Daniel. "La Nueva Empresa crime group founder is final FBI fugitive sought in US Consulate slayings". El Paso Times. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ "Mexico Arrests Gangster Wanted for US Consulate Murders". www.occrp.org. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ "Hunt underway for 'The Gnome' in wake of attacks on Juarez police". BorderReport. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ Malcolm Beith (2010). The last narco. Internet Archive. Grove Press. ISBN 978-0-8021-1952-0.
- ^ "pink cocaine". www.vice.com. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ Daly, Max (2022-12-07). "Colombia's Infamous 'Pink Cocaine' Is on the Rise in Europe". Vice. Retrieved 2023-12-29.