The 7 Most Powerful Mafias in the World

The 7 Most Powerful Mafias in the World

The 7 Most Powerful Mafias in the World

Organized crime has given much to talk about, not only because it tells fascinating stories, with a flavor that leaves them with a flavor between myth and reality, but also because it is an ultra-millionaire business, which has already placed its most prominent “Capos” among the richest people in the world.

The Mafias listed below are transnational and control the underworld of several countries, buy favors in powerful environments, and thanks to their secret intelligence, rival the government of many countries. Some of these hold the military power of small countries, others have so much money that they could pay the balance of the foreign debt of an entire nation.




Curiosity? Get ready, because these are the 7 Most Powerful Mafias in the World.

7) Mara Salvatrucha

The 7 Most Powerful Mafias in the World

Year Founded: 1980 – Capo: Unknown – Revenue: 1 Billion Dollars

“I live for my mother and I die for my neighborhood” is your motto!

Known as the most violent gang on the planet, the Mara salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, is an organization of transnational and associated criminal gangs.

MS-13 was born in the 1980s in California by Salvadoran immigrants, in order to defend their countrymen from African-American and Mexican gangs.

Later, he went international when he arrived in Mexico, and in other parts of Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras), Canada and Spain, becoming a true international organized crime syndicate, earning a ranking among the most influential criminal organizations in the world.

In constant business with Mexico's main drug cartels, Mara Salvatrucha is estimated to have around 70.000 members assets, most of which are in Honduras and the United States.



Prostitution, drug trafficking, extortion and illegal immigration are their main businesses.


6) Sun Yee On – Chinese Mafia

The 7 Most Powerful Mafias in the World

Year Founded: 1918 – Capo: Unknown – Revenue: $3 billion

We present to you the most outstanding and powerful Chinese triad: a Sun Yee On, which controls a huge portion of the criminal underworld of Hong Kong, China, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Holland, Thailand, Canada, Australia and part of the United States.

Over 50.000 members in its ranks, it is considered one of the most intelligent and secret mafias, as demonstrated by the following data: currently it is not known who runs it.

Despite its abundant membership, Sun Yee On operates with small and reserved families, which makes it difficult for the police to infiltrate their activities.

Thanks to its greatness, it enjoys success against the authorities and complete victory over rival Chinese mafia triads, such as the 14K, the Big Circle Boys, and the Zhu Lien Bang. All of this puts her at number 6 on this list.

Human trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal immigration and extortion are their main businesses.

5) Sinaloa Cartel

The 7 Most Powerful Mafias in the World

Years founded: 1989 – Capo: El Chapo Guzman – Revenue: 3,5 billion dollars

There are several powerful crime syndicates in Mexico: Los Zetas, the Familia Michoacana, Los Templarios as well as the Gulf Cartel. However, among all, there is a mafia that stands out and is clearly positioned in first place.

Thanks to his strong contacts with powerful politicians, both in the Mexico how much us United States, the mafia that faced the fewest setbacks, in addition to clearly winning the wars against other Mexican criminal organizations, and that was most structured to act intelligently, is the Sinaloa Cartel.



Also known as the Pacific Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel is not only feared and respected, but also well known for corrupting figures in all strata of the law.


Its main business is the national and international drug trafficking, also extortion, kidnapping, money laundering, arms trafficking and murder.

The Los Negros faction and the Beltran Group together are united in a narco-military force that constitutes a cartel, with the objective of combating the operations of the rival Gulf cartels: the The Zetas.

It takes advantage of criminal groups such as The EME (acronym for the Mexican mafia) and MS-13 to carry out assassinations and other illegal activities.

Currently, there is an ongoing struggle by Los Negros in the Nuevo Laredo region for control of drug trafficking routes. The cartel operates in more than 50 countries, occupying the fifth position among the largest criminal organizations in the world

4) Yamaguchi-gumi

The 7 Most Powerful Mafias in the World

Year Founded: 1915 – Capo: “Kumicho” Shinobu Tsukasa– Revenue: $15 billion

We remind you that the Yakuza is not a criminal organization as such, but it is the Japanese name for all organizations in general, it's like saying Mafia or Cartel. It is important to clarify because there are many people who think that the japanese yakuza it's just a mafia.

Among Japanese crime syndicates, the organization Yamaguchi-gumi It is the biggest and most powerful mafia in the country of the rising sun and also one of the most respected in the world.

With nothing less than 63 thousand members, o Clã Yamaguchi-gumi, movie 15 billion dollars annually. It works like an industry and has nothing to envy the main Japanese corporations.



The main businesses of the Japanese mafia are drug trafficking, prostitution, extortion, blackmail, money laundering and large-scale fraud. The Yamaguchi-gumi controls more than 50% of the criminal underworld in Japan, are so powerful that they act with impunity and have allowed themselves the luxury of publishing their own magazine, where the To the fruit, i.e. the supreme godfather, decides its editorial line. A madness hard to believe, but it's pure reality.


This is Japan's most powerful criminal group and a potent contender among the most powerful mafias on the planet.

3) Or Medellin Cartel

The 7 Most Powerful Mafias in the World

Years of foundation: 1976 – Capo: Pablo Escobar Gaviria – Revenue: 30 Billion dollars

Yes, we know, the Medellín cartel no longer exists. Even so, it earns the bronze medal on our list because, not only was it a forerunner in the drug business, but it also served as an inspiration for many other modern criminal organizations.

A pioneer in cocaine trafficking, as we know it today, for 17 years, she had as her capo one of the richest gangsters of all time. “El Magico” Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria.

Based in the Colombian city of Medellín, operated in the 1970s and 1980s in Colombia itself, but also in Bolivia, Peru, Central America, the United States, Canada and Europe.

The Medellín Cartel was founded and led by the brothers Ochoa Vázquez, Jorge Luis, Juan David, and Fabio, together with Pablo Escobar. The Cartel was responsible for most drug exports in Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Other notable figures involved in or connected to the cartel include the Ochoa family, Carlos Lehder e george young.

2) The Bratva – Russian Mafia

The 7 Most Powerful Mafias in the World

Founding Years: 1700 – Capo: Semion Mogilevic – Revenue: $70 Billion

Solncevskaja Bratva, ou Fratellanza Solncevskaja, is a potent Russian criminal organization originating in Mosca.

Formed and directed largely by former members of the KGB, the Russian Mafia survived the most oppressive and authoritarian police in the world. It is among the most dangerous criminal organizations on the planet.

Although it is considered one of the most powerful organizations among the criminal groups in Russian mafia, it is difficult to establish an order in which it is verified how strong and influential it is, since some criminals declare themselves as members belonging to the “Solncevskaja”, to scare and be respected.

In 2000, it was estimated that around 5000 members/Capos, which operated in 32 countries, including countries in Europe, North America, Israel and South Africa.

Pioneer of cybercrime, its main businesses are drug and arms trafficking, prostitution, human trafficking and murder. The Bratva controls part of Russia's Gross Domestic Product.

With 300.000 troops and nearly 2 million members worldwide, today, the Russian Mafia manages an economy so vast, it is like a small and successful invisible country.

1) The 'Ndrangheta – Calabrian Mafia

The 7 Most Powerful Mafias in the World

Year founded: 1861 – Capo: Giuseppe Morabito – Revenue: 60 Billion dollars

When we talk about organized crime in Italy, we deal with a great paradox. There are 3 big mafias in this country, two of them are Camorra and Cosa Nostra – sindo the last, of Sicilian origin, the most famous, thanks to the innumerable films about its history.

But that doesn't mean anything, because few people know that the most powerful mafia in Italy and the world is the mighty 'Ndrangeheta, i.e. the Calabrian Mafia.

To get an idea of ​​the scale of this third mafia nucleus, both the Camorra and Cosa Nostra learned not to mess with the 'Ndrangheta!

With a turnover of 60 billion a year, and controlling 80% of the drug market in Europe, the 'Ndrangheta is considered by many criminologists to be Mafia number 1.

Your business goes from drug trafficking, up to extortion, through the arms trafficking, prostitution and profit derived from public contracts.

With a force of over 50.000 soldiers, 380 families in seven mainland areas, the Calabrian mafia has branches in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Mexico and the United States. It is a mafia that expands everywhere.

Both a criminal syndicate and a multinational empire, the 'Ndrangheta is the mafia number 1 from our list and therefore from the world.

And then? Those were the 7 most powerful mafias in the world. What did you think about it? Comment below and share with your friends! 

add a comment of The 7 Most Powerful Mafias in the World
Comment sent successfully! We will review it in the next few hours.