How transnational mafia bosses became the new generals of hybrid warfare
Europol’s report “EU Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment 2025” spotlights “DNA mutation” of organised crime, an alarming destabilizing factor for democratic political systems through war and new technologies
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/19/how-transnational-mafia-bosses-became-the-new-generals-of-hybrid-warfare
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Europol’s report “EU Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment 2025” spotlights “DNA mutation” of organised crime, an alarming destabilizing factor for democratic political systems through war and new technologies
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/19/how-transnational-mafia-bosses-became-the-new-generals-of-hybrid-warfare
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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00:00Criminal organizations are the new soldiers in a hybrid war.
00:07Mafias have teamed up with hostile countries to threaten the European Union
00:12with cross-border criminal activities that have destabilizing political effects.
00:18The alert was issued by the EU's police agency Europol on Tuesday.
00:26Criminal organizations, of course, they are agile, they are borderless,
00:32they are controlling and they work to destabilize.
00:37So criminal organizations, they look always for opportunities.
00:41If they see an opportunity to work with a state actor, they will work with a state actor.
00:46According to the European Union, one of the most worrying examples of the interaction
00:51between organized crime and hostile state actors is illegal immigration.
00:57Human traffickers are being used by foreign powers such as Belarus
01:01to destabilize its neighbors in exchange for money.
01:05This is the modus operandi of the criminal gangs who cooperate very closely
01:11with the Belarusian and Russian government,
01:13because without engagement of state actors from Belarus and Russia,
01:18it would be impossible to create this migration route.
01:23Europol has warned of risks coming from conflict zones
01:27and has established close cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities.
01:31Europol is also suggesting the European institutions to prepare a strategy
01:36in order to tackle the possible emerging risk coming from a post-war scenario in Ukraine
01:44where chaos could become a weapon for criminal organizations.
01:49Sergio Cantone, DENACH, for Euronews.