Growing sophistication of gangs' modus operandi in Uruguay likely to include increase in cash-in-transit and ATM theft

In early evening of 3 September 2018, at least 10 masked individuals intercepted an armoured cash-in-transit vehicle belonging to security firm Prosegur, outside the Itaú Bank, in front of the Congress building in Avenida del Libertador and Yaguarón, in Montevideo. The individuals, armed with automatic weapons and handguns, took USD183,000 from the vehicle and ran away in stolen vehicles. Shooting occurred between the gang and security guards with bullets breaking windows of nearby buildings. Five people were injured including two security guards and three passers-by. The whole operation lasted less than a minute. Violent crime in Uruguay has been rising: in the first half of 2018 murder rates increased by 66% (totalling 218 cases compared with 131 in the same period in 2017), while theft and robberies increased by 56% and 27%, respectively, according to official data. However, Uruguay's crime rates remain among the lowest in Latin America (homicide rate is 8.1 per 100,000 in 2017), and most homicides are gang-related.

Significance: This robbery signals the increasing sophistication of Uruguay's criminal gangs, partly following a 2017 regulation that liberalised penalties for criminals (such as restricting remand in custody, reducing sentences and removing some police powers, such as interrogating detainees), increasing gang disputes over drug-trafficking points, and the evolution of some football fan clubs ("barras bravas") into criminal activity. In 2016 and 2017 there were two robberies from armoured vehicles outside supermarkets at Parque Roosevelt (Canelones), and Sagayo (Montevideo). Gangs have also undertaken explosive attacks on cash machines in Montevideo, Canelones, and the tourist area of Punta del Este. IHS Markit's sources in Uruguay confirm that this modus operandi only started a couple of years ago, and that at least 13 of these attacks have been recorded. This poses risks property damage and death and injury risks for passers-by, particularly near banks and shopping centres in Canelones and Montevideo (particularly in Aguada and Pocitos, and suburbs such as Casavalle). An indicator of increased likelihood of further such attacks would be an increase on vehicle theft, particularly of vehicles with darkened windows, which gangs use to perpetrate these attacks. An indicator of declining risk would be if the government was to formulate a new comprehensive security strategy, but this is unlikely to include increasing police powers, as the ruling centre-left Broad Front (Frente Amplio) is ideologically opposed to severely toughening security measures.