Criminal Governance and Structural Facilitation of Transnational Drug Trafficking in Latin America (2006–2025): A Comparative Criminological Analysis

This study examines the structural conditions that enable the persistence and expansion of transnational drug trafficking networks in Latin America between 2006 and 2025. Moving beyond actor-specific attribution, the research adopts a systemic criminological approach to analyze how institutional fragility, regulatory gaps, and asymmetrical state capacity contribute to the operational continuity of organized crime. Using an interdisciplinary framework integrating criminology, political economy, geostrategic analysis, and open-source intelligence triangulation, the study identifies recurrent patterns of criminal governance, logistical adaptation, and calibrated violence deployment across major regional corridors. The findings support the hypothesis that trafficking networks thrive in environments marked by partial state capture, fragmented sovereignty, and uneven enforcement mechanisms. The article advances structural facilitation as a conceptual model explaining the resilience of illicit economies in complex governance contexts.