Running head: THE LINK BETWEEN TERRORISTS AND ORGANIZED CRIME 1
The Link between Terrorists and Organized Crime
THE LINK BETWEEN TERRORISTS AND ORGANIZED CRIME 2
The Link between Terrorists and Organized Crime
Organized crime and terrorism, in all forms and manifestations, turned today into a
vexed and pressing problem of global significance in its scope, intensity, inhumanity and
cruelty. Over recent decades, not only traditionally explosive areas of international conflicts
have become the arena of terrorist manifestations, but also the United States, France and
Russia. The solution of the political, religious and ethnic problems using organized crime
groups and terrorist organizations destabilizes states, causes uncertainty about the future and
leads to the death of many people.
Therefore today, the most effective moves and methods of terror is not violence
against the authorities, but violence towards peaceful and defenseless people, and the most
important – towards those people who have no relationship to the “destination” of terror.
Terrorism usually includes the obligatory demonstration of the disastrous results of terror
through the media and, finally, the presentation of motives of terror and conditions of its
termination through the media and public leaders. The main condition of such terror is a
vigorous reaction of media. Modern terrorism has TV screen as “battlefield”, so the terrorists
“demand” not for ransom, but for television journalists in the first place. The purpose is to
impact on the public and force it to give an ultimatum to its leaders (Mallory, 2012).
However, despite the fact that the means and ends of criminal and terrorist
organizations are quite different, there is a tendency to their merger, which may become
irreversible and very dangerous.
One of the factors leading to the merging of international terrorism and transnational
crime, is the changed political situation. With the end of the Cold War, international terrorism
is largely lost patronage it had used in the past, but without losing its influence. Those states
that support terrorism, less often desire to be involved in terrorist acts, and more and more
countries are trying not to fall under the criteria by which they may be added to the list of
THE LINK BETWEEN TERRORISTS AND ORGANIZED CRIME 3
states supporting terrorism. Nevertheless, this fact should not lead to complacency. Since
terrorist organizations are faced with the fact that financial support from the government is
weakened, they are likely to increasingly turn to criminal organizations and to purely criminal
activities as an alternative source of funds. Therefore, transactions for providing weapons in
exchange for illegal products or services are likely to become more frequent. Terrorist groups
will almost certainly be actively seek to be involved in criminal activities with a view to
obtaining funding for political terrorism (Holmes, 2010).
The second element is the availability of transnational criminal organizations to
establish direct communication with those groups that have resorted to the tactic of mass
violence for political purposes. In some cases, this may not be avoided. Drug traffickers in
Peru, for example, had no choice but to establish a relationship with the organization Sendero
Luminoso (Shining Path). The point is that members of the organization Shining Path,
