Uruguay Gang Members: Police Map 2,723 People in 137 Active Criminal Structures
Uruguay police count 2,723 gang members in 137 criminal structures, most of them family clans. Conflict between criminals drives 58% of 2026 killings. The post Uruguay Gang Members: Police Map 2,723 People in 137 Active Criminal Structures appeared first on The Rio Times .
Uruguay's police have mapped the country's 137 active criminal structures, with 2,723 gang members involved, Interior Minister Carlos Negro revealed in the Senate security committee on September 29. The detailed report identifies most structures as small family clans rather than large cartels, with 64 family clans at the top of the hierarchy, followed by 43 groups with some coordination, and 21 opportunistic gangs with little organization.
Only nine are classified as complex criminal organizations with a hierarchy. Out of the 2,723 gang members, 1,903 are free, while 649 are in prison, 82 have died, 23 are abroad, and 39 are wanted by the courts. Thirty-seven of these structures operate in Montevideo neighborhoods, with Marconi having the most with five. Thirty-six of the structures are in Montevideo, indicating the majority of criminal activity occurs outside the city center.
Conflict between criminals has become the main motive for homicides, with the percentage of victims killed in such conflicts rising from 30% in 2013 to 58% in 2026. Montevideo alone recorded 176 homicides from January to August this year, with 98 of those victims or killers linked to criminal structures. Uruguay has seen 284 homicides so far this year, with 157 solved and 49 showing progress.
President Yamandú Orsi's centre-left government faces security challenges, as drug money has infiltrated politics, leading to a party aide's jail term for laundering drug money. Security remains a significant political test for Orsi's administration.
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