When Mafia and jihadists team together - by Alessio Postiglione
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Infcous
When Mafia and
jihadists team
together
by Alessio Postiglione
80
© Gonzalo Alonso viaFlickr 81
F3 Magazine
Justice is not a construct
When Mafia and jihadists team together
© Gonzalo Alonso viaFlickr
Business is business. We might institutional polities, capturing Mexican and Colombian drug
say this is the principle all the States, turning their gangs into cartels, actors from all over the
illegal activities follow, when the ruling élites of new Mafia world are playing the game. In
criminal ethics meets the spirit States. a moment in which States are
of capitalism, to paraphrase Max replaced by mega-cities compet-
Weber. Today, a new violent In our recent book, “Sahara the ing over connectivity more than
cartel rules the Mediterranean; desert of mafia and jihadists”, borders, as to quote Parag Khan-
an unholy alliance between in- Italian journalist Massimiliano na, the most networked criminal
ternational mafia groups and Boccolini and I have highlighted gangs will win.
jihadists, which spans from the the emergence of new unexpect-
northern to the southern flanks ed ties between godfathers and
of the Mare Nostrum: human jihad affiliates. Italy, located in
A new violent
trafficking, drugs and weapons the very centre of the Mediter- cartel rules the
smuggling, and new criminal part- ranean, is obviously a main hub,
nerships have developed across thanks to its well established and
Mediterranean;
the sea. A mobsters’ new entente influential mafia groups: Sicilian an unholy
cordiale aimed at perpetuating Cosa Nostra, Calabria’s ‘Ndrang-
illicit trafficking and destabiliz- heta, Neapolitan Camorra and
alliance between
ing the whole region. Because Apulian Sacra Corona Unita. At international
both jihadists and mafia groups any rate, this criminal partner-
share criminal but also politi- ship is an international network:
mafia groups and
cal goals, including subverting from Cechenian Obishna, to the jihadists
F3 Magazine
Justice is not a construct
When Mafia and jihadists team together
However, the pivotal actor is egies, like during the “strategy of through Sahel - Mali, Niger, and
Italy, due to its central geopo- tension” years, a period of social then Libya -, mainly drugs and
litical location and the straight and political turmoil, marked by human beings are smuggled:
relational-political nature of its numerous acts of political ter- Highway 10, the 10th parallel
gangs. In fact, the foremost crim- rorism. It is not by chance that marine and aerial routes linking
inal affinity between jihadists the use of uploading on YouTube South America and West Afri-
and Italian mafia groups lies in video of beheadings to scare the ca, the shortest route between
the political role the latter have enemies was firstly started by the two continents, has become
always played. As jihadists aim at Mexican cartels, lately imitated the preferred lane used by traf-
establishing new States, like ISIS by jihadists, thus supporting the fickers for shipping multi-tons
- but also other lesser known en- existence of an exchange between of cocaine from Mexico and
tities such as the Caucasus Emir- the two entities, not only at an Colombia to Europe. The fur-
ate -, so Italian Mafias have al- economic level, but also on ethical thest destinations of this route
ways done. During its existence, and aesthetic grounds. A jihadist are intertwined with jihadism.
Cosa Nostra has dealt with “de- such as Mahmood Omar Khabir Through Boko Haram’s con-
viated” secret services; liaised has been living in Mexico in re- trolled areas in the Sahel region,
with élites during Risorgimento; cent years, working with Ismael new illicit traffic caravanserais
infiltrated a Sicilian separatist “el Mayo” Zambada from the are flourishing. Migrants and
political party, whose objective Sinaloa drug cartel. people trafficked from all over
was to establish an independent Africa are gathered at the border
region; negotiated with “deviat- between Niger and Libya and
ed” Italian functionaries, after Italian mafia then smuggled through Fezzan,
the Portella della Ginestra mas- groups have also Southern Libya, towards Eu-
sacre and the period of ‘92 and rope. Judiciary sources includ-
‘93 manslaughters, when mafi- always relied on ed in our book prove how mafia
osi murdered renowned judg-
es Giovanni Falcone and Paolo
terrorist strategies groups, especially Neapolitan
camorra, provide vital expertise
Borsellino and several other in counterfeiting documents to
anti-Mafia activists. In doing so, Jihadists and mafia gangsters help migrants and also terrorists
Italian mafia groups have also both share a criminal econo- to move freely inside the EU’s
always relied on terrorist strat- my. From the Gulf of Guinea, Schengen area. Many victims of
© AMISOM Public Information viaFlickr
83
F3 Magazine
Justice is not a construct
When Mafia and jihadists team together
© Ikechukwu Ibe viaFlickr
human trafficking are enlisted in
Italian mafia ranks or involved
Western Sahara ots to religious fanaticism. El-
oquently, Western Sahara may
in illegal activities that fund may become become increasingly permeable
terrorist attacks in Europe. The to the interests of groups such
2004 Madrid train bombings at increasingly as al-Qaida. The overall pover-
the Atocha Railway Station were
financed by drug smuggled at
permeable to the ty of youth, disillusioned with
the elites establishment, accused
Santa Maria Capua Vetere, close interests of groups of misspending the economic
to Naples, with the cooperation resources is triggering a sort of
of Camorra. Mokhtar Belmokhtar, such as al-Qaida paradigm change: some young
a key leader of AQUIM - Al Qaeda people seem to flee the secular
in Islamic Maghreb - who start- At the present stage, we are wit- values and are turning to jihad-
ed his career in Afghan and Al- nessing two trends: on the one ism, seduced by its political dis-
gerian civil wars, is nicknamed hand, there is an alliance be- course. A belief is growing that
Mr. Marlboro, due to his main tween many subversive move- jihad is a better way to amelio-
funding activity, yet has been ments which share populist rate living conditions, when po-
involved into different turmoils and anti Western values; on the litical leaderships are accused of
associated with “liberation” other hand we observe a shift corruption and marxist ideol-
movements and separatism. from secular-revolutionary ri- ogy has lost its grip on the hopes
84
F3 Magazine
Justice is not a construct
When Mafia and jihadists team together
© UN Photo/Staton Winter
of the youth. Similarly, terror- is an iconic narco-emir, associ- rightist groups, in Europe, which
ist-salafi groups such as the MU- ated with another milestone ac- are sympathetic with the anti
JAO (Movement for Unity and tivity of the criminal economy: liberal and anti capitalist stance
Jihad in Western Africa) and ransoms. of Salafi terrorists.
Ansar Eddine, the former led
by Belmokhtar and Abu Walid In our book, we cover the case The enemies of the open soci-
al Sahrawi, the latter by Iyad Ag of Italian tourist Maria Sandra ety cooperate. This implies its
Ghaly gained ground by exploit- Mariani, kidnapped on February supporters must collaborate at
ing disillusioned youth or fragile the 2nd 2011 in Djanet, south- any level and in any place to
territories. Ag Ghaly is a billion- ern Algeria, who recounted be- cope with these threats. The es-
aire who started his career with ing held hostage by Adnan Abu tablishment of a common Eu-
secular movements, became a Walid al-Sahrawi and his mili- ropean Public Prosecutor’s Of-
Malian diplomat, led the Tuareg tants, all young people purport- fice which cooperates with its
rebellion against his govern- edly from the Tindouf Camp. homologues worldwide may be
ment, lastly affiliated to Nusrat Having said that, there is some the right answer. In a connected
al-Islam, a qaedist group formed evidence that this tactical al- world, networked criminals can-
by branches of AQUIM, some liance between mafia and ji- not be countered individually.
Talibans and the Macina Libera- hadists might include also sub-
tion Front. Abu Walid al Sahrawi versive extremists leftist and
The author
Alessio Postiglione is a journalist and political adviser. He works as a research assistant at the Euro-
pean University Institute (Centre for Media Pluralism & Freedom); he teaches at several universities;
he writes op-eds for newspapers (including la Repubblica) and he is a political analyst working with
televisions and radios such as Radio France Internationale and Sky. His latest book, “Sahara, deserto
di mafie e jihad”, investigates the link between mafias and jihadists. He has lectured at the Italian and
European Parliament, and at the UN Headquarter in New York.
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