The Maxiprocesso and the Strategic Dislocation of Mafia Organizations: Adaptive Mutations and Projection toward Latin America (1986–2025)

Abstract

The study compares the Italian criminal-law response to organized crime —taking the Maxiprocesso (1986–1992) as its reference point— with analogous experiences in Latin America between 1986 and 2025, assessing their impact on the operational configuration of criminal organizations. It advances a comparative analysis of large-scale trials, special penitentiary regimes, and extradition policies in Italy and Latin America. A mixed-methods research design is employed, combining event analysis, normative and jurisprudential review, and an examination of the operational dynamics of transnational organized crime based on institutional reports. Sources include the National Anti-Mafia and Counter-Terrorism Directorate, the Anti-Mafia Investigative Directorate, ISTAT, and counterpart institutions across Latin America. Findings indicate that, in Italy, the convergence of the Maxiprocesso, the 41-bis regime, and domestic prosecution produced changes in patterns of violence, command structures, and functional diversification. By contrast, in Latin America, measures such as the extradition of high-level leaders and high-profile prosecutions have not generated sustained alterations in criminal governance capacities.