By 2026, Brazil has cemented its role not just as a corridor, but as the primary transcontinental logistics platform for organized crime. What were once casual "transit routes" have evolved into a professional industrial operation that challenges national sovereignty and redefines the country's position in the global criminal landscape.
Here is the detailed breakdown of how this evolution has impacted Brazil as of early 2026:
1. The Leap in Global Rankings
According to the latest data from the Global Organized Crime Index (GI-TOC), Brazil has climbed from 22nd to 14th place among countries with the highest presence of criminal networks.
Rising Criminality: The country is now classified as a "high criminality" nation, driven by record cocaine exports and the expansion of factions into environmental crimes and money laundering.
Stagnant Resilience: While the state has invested in technology and asset forfeiture (seizing billions in goods), institutional response capacity is still considered low (ranking 86th in resilience) due to criminal infiltration into local political and judicial spheres.
2. Ports: The Exposed Nerves of Sovereignty
Brazilian ports are the main points of friction in 2026. Organized crime doesn't just "hide" drugs anymore; it manages the logistics with corporate-level professionalism.
Port of Santos (SP): It remains the "crown jewel." It is estimated that over 60% of the cocaine leaving Brazil for Europe passes through here. Tactics have evolved: from using professional divers to attach loads to ship hulls to deploying cargo drones to bypass land-based surveillance.
The "Southern Route" and the Northeast: Ports like Paranaguá (PR) and port complexes in Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte have become vital gateways to Africa and the burgeoning Asian market.
Logistical Complexity: The rip-on/rip-off method (where drugs are stashed in containers of legitimate exporters without their knowledge) has become so prevalent that the Brazilian logistics sector faces rising insurance and international compliance costs.
