Latam Cartels Tap Crypto to Expand Their Illicit Workflows

Crypto Adoption in Latam Gives Criminals Extra Tools

The rise of cryptocurrencies in Latam, a region that has become one of the most vibrant regarding digital asset adoption, has also allowed criminals to take advantage of this alternative financial system and the processes associated with it.

According to Dialogo Americas, as the utilization of cryptocurrencies by criminal actors is mainly linked to money laundering, these organizations have turned to mining and other crypto investments to obscure the origin of some of their illicit earnings.

Evidence of this is found in recent operations executed by Mexican and Brazilian police, which have dismantled mining complexes allegedly operated by criminal entities such as the Brazilian Comando Vermelho and the Mexican Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, which have also been linked to crypto money laundering endeavors before.

Álvaro Marques, a former Brazilian Federal Police agent, explained why mining is attractive for these groups. “The advantage is that cryptocurrencies obtained through mining have a technical origin that can be associated with a legitimate activity. This creates additional challenges when trying to trace financial assets,” he declared.

In addition, Latam-based criminal organizations have begun to build their own network of financial intermediaries to move cryptocurrencies in a “legal way.” Operation Hidden Flow (Fluxo Oculto) dismantled a network of six fintech companies that laundered over $5 billion for the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) between 2022 and 2025. In June, the Trump Administration designated the PCC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). Other criminal groups like Tren de Aragua have also been implicated in similar crimes.

Nonetheless, crypto has also given these groups access to large international money laundering rings, including those of Russian and Chinese origin. For example, Golden Cat Processamento de Pagamento Ltda., a fintech managed by Chinese nationals in Brazil, allegedly operated as a money laundering scheme, facilitating these services for online gambling operators. The network processed over $50 billion before being dismantled.

Investigators have even identified links between terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and al-Qaeda and local cartels, raising alarms about the relevance of strengthening international coordination to tackle this ongoing integration.

Caio Motta, Chainalysis’ senior Solutions Architect for Latin America, told Dialogo Americas that financial organizations facilitating these crimes must be subject to stringent oversight controls.

“That means strengthening licensing and oversight processes, monitoring transactions in real time, increasing scrutiny of OTC brokers and shell companies, enhancing international cooperation, and accelerating the freezing and seizure of digital assets,” he concluded.