Transnational Organized Crime and Political Actors in the Maghreb and Sahel

Historically, the Maghreb-Sahel belt has been a hub of transit and trade between Sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean coasts. Today, the absence of national governments both on the political and economic level, coupled with major security issues, gave room for numerous militant groups to take advantage of the prevailing vacuum in the region by sinking into a territory abandoned by the authorities with the support of a neglected local population. In parallel, numerous criminal interests managed to develop in this environment with a set of groups exploiting the opportunities presented by this disorder.