Decreased Cocaine Flows Lead to Increased Extortion in Northern Colombia

InSight Crime

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Decreased Cocaine Flows Lead to Increased Extortion in Northern Colombia

Decreased Cocaine Flows Lead to Increased Extortion in Northern Colombia A decline in drug trafficking in northern Colombia has led to a rise in extortion as increasingly fragmented criminal groups seek new sources of funding. Reports of extortion in the department of Atlántico, Colombia, rose from 199 in 2019 to 1,335 in 2023 — a 570% increase — according to the national police database (Sistema de Información Estadístico, Delincuencial, Contr…