Killing in Silence: The Global Assassination Monitor
01/10/22 • 33 min
An assassination is like a stone being dropped into the middle of a still pond – the splash is the violent act itself – the ripples are the repercussions, that spread far and wide – fear, intimidation, silencing, corruption, erosion of trust, environmental damage, illicit firearms, impunity and retaliation – after all, violence begets violence – the damage to society is far-reaching, way beyond the shock of that initial killing.
In November 2021, the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime launched the Global Assassination Monitor - the first ever global database on contract killings.
Speakers
Ana-Paula Oliveira, Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime
Nina Kaysser, Senior Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
Presenter
Jack Meegan-Vickers
Additional material
The Global Assassination Monitor
(Podcast) Faces of Assassination (Also available across podcast platforms)
(Book pdf) Faces of Assassination book
(Paper) The rule of the gun: Hits and assassinations in South Africa, 2000-2017
(Paper) Murder by Contract: Targeted killings in eastern and southern Africa
(Paper) How to silence the guns? Southern Africa's illegal firearms markets
(Paper) Making a killing: What assassinations reveal about the Montenegrin drug war
(Article) Mozambique’s quiet assassination epidemic
(Podcast) Too Many Enemies (Narrative podcast exploring the assassination crisis in South Africa)
More podcast episodes from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, and more.
An assassination is like a stone being dropped into the middle of a still pond – the splash is the violent act itself – the ripples are the repercussions, that spread far and wide – fear, intimidation, silencing, corruption, erosion of trust, environmental damage, illicit firearms, impunity and retaliation – after all, violence begets violence – the damage to society is far-reaching, way beyond the shock of that initial killing.
In November 2021, the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime launched the Global Assassination Monitor - the first ever global database on contract killings.
Speakers
Ana-Paula Oliveira, Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime
Nina Kaysser, Senior Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
Presenter
Jack Meegan-Vickers
Additional material
The Global Assassination Monitor
(Podcast) Faces of Assassination (Also available across podcast platforms)
(Book pdf) Faces of Assassination book
(Paper) The rule of the gun: Hits and assassinations in South Africa, 2000-2017
(Paper) Murder by Contract: Targeted killings in eastern and southern Africa
(Paper) How to silence the guns? Southern Africa's illegal firearms markets
(Paper) Making a killing: What assassinations reveal about the Montenegrin drug war
(Article) Mozambique’s quiet assassination epidemic
(Podcast) Too Many Enemies (Narrative podcast exploring the assassination crisis in South Africa)
More podcast episodes from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, and more.
Previous Episode
Plastics for Profit
In this episode we look at the criminal involvement in the plastic waste industry.
The lucrative global market in plastic waste is expected to be reach over $50 billion US Dollars by 2022. From Mafia groups to poly-crime networks, the temptation for organised criminal groups and bad actors to get a slice of this market is too hard to resist - and so corners are cut, laws are ignored, and irreversible damage is done.
Alongside this, some waste management companies are used as Fronts to conceal other illicit activities like human trafficking, drug trafficking, prostitution, and various financial crimes like money laundering, tax evasion, mis-invoicing.
Paper: Plastic for Profit: Tracing illicit plastic waste flows, supply chains and actors
Speakers
Virginia Comolli, Research Manager, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
Yuyun Ismawati, Special Advisor at the Nexus3 Foundation
Willie Wilson, Vice Chair and Private Sector Engagement Lead, INTERPOL Pollution Crime Working Group
Sedat Gündoğdu, Marine Biologist at Cukurova University in Turkey
Reading
Plastic for Profit: Tracing illicit plastic waste flows, supply chains and actors, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GITOC)
Money Laundering from Environmental Crime, Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
INTERPOL report alerts to sharp rise in plastic waste crime, INTERPOL
Plastic Waste Management and Burden in Indonesia, Nexus3 Foundation
Global Shell Game: Fate of re-exports of seized illegal imports of waste from the USA to Indonesia, Nexus3 Foundation
Why is UK recycling being dumped by Turkish roadsides?, BBC News
Biffa fined £1.5 million for 'reckless' export breach, gov.uk
UK waste firm fined £1.5m for exporting household waste, The Guardian
Next Episode
"He's an animal" - Part 1: Clan del Golfo: The Fall of Otoniel
In late 2021, the leader of Clan del Golfo (The Urabeños) Dairo Antonio Úsuga, aka "Otoniel", was captured by the Colombian police. President Iván Duque said that the arrest was only matched by the fall of Pablo Escobar in the 1990s.
Over the course of two episodes we look at the birth of Clan del Golfo out of the ashes of the right-wing paramilitary movement in Colombia. We'll explore their involvement in illicit markets such as drug trafficking, illegal mining, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and how they use extreme violence and targeted assassinations to spread fear.
So who is Otoniel? Well, a prominent drug trafficker, Daniel "El Loco" Barrera, after being captured by Colombian police, warned them that about Otoniel, repeatedly saying..."He's an animal".
Speakers:
Angela Olaya, the Co-founder and Senior Researcher at the Conflict Responses Foundation in Colombia.
Toby Muse, Foreign Correspondent, documentary filmmaker and author of the book Kilo: Life and Death inside the secret world of the cocaine cartels.
Jorge Mantilla, the Director of Conflict Dynamics and Organized Violence, Ideas for Peace Foundation and a member of the GI network
Related Links:
Toby Muse - Kilo: Life and Death inside the secret world of the cocaine cartels
Insight Crime - Dairo Antonio Usuga "Otoniel" Profile
Colombia Reports - Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) / Gulf Clan
Mapping Militants, CISAC, Stanford
El Semana - Daniel "El Loco" Barrera arrested
Paramilitaries’ Heirs: The New Face of Violence in Colombia - Human Rights Watch
The Last Man Standing? The Rise of the Urabenos - Jeremy McDermott
Reuters - Virgins recruited as sex slaves for Colombian drug lords - reports
Full Reading List to be provided soon.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/deep-dive-exploring-organized-crime-44495/killing-in-silence-the-global-assassination-monitor-18770170"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to killing in silence: the global assassination monitor on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy