[u][b]Cartels, The Black Market, and Organised Crime[/b][/u]

Even before the Heavenfall, organised crime was a feature of the world, and caused many problems, even at a national level in some regions of the world, with the biggest and most dangerous organizations having access to military-grade weapons, training and expertise. 
The separation between East and West, and the restrictive policies and cultures of some countries meant that there were always shortages, embargoes and bans on things that other people wanted - and that meant there was a lucrative deal to be made in supplying people with those things. 

In the case of supply of narcotics, manufacturing, growing and transporting them, as well as securing the routes of travel and those shipping the product. The scale of these operations grew to unprecedented levels, with the power and resources of these groups rivalling the legitimate government authorities. They employed hundreds of thousands of people, many willingly, other against their will or at least; by removing the choice as they enforced their own rule of law to large areas of the countries they were in control of. 
These cartels straddled the line between terrorist and criminal organisations, especially with the resources at their disposal. Many of them crossed into other criminal enterprises besides narcotics; arms dealing, protection rackets, smuggling, fraud, bribery, and all manner of other criminal enterprises. 

Of course, cartels were not the only kind of organised crime. Crime families and rings were just as prevalent, dealing in all manner of crimes and activities, and having national and international networks of their own. Though; they tended not to have the same kind of 'military' grade firepower and organization as drug cartels. Nonetheless, they often had far-reaching influence, usually based on bribery, blackmail, and other influences over officials and individuals. They often infiltrated police departments and justice departments, investigative agencies, customs, security firms and city departments so that a blind eye could be turned. Crimes such as racketeering, fraud, bribery, insurance fraud, money laundering, forgery, and any number of other crimes. 
Such 'families' do not always have an actual familial connection, but might be organised like a family and have a sense of kinship and belonging as part of their appeal to loyalty. They also often have ethnic or cultural roots. 

Crime families, Cartels and Syndicates are all very closely interwoven in their activities and how they work together, although these connections are often precarious. The saying 'there is no honour among thieves' has roots in reality, and the greed and hunger for power and influence often means that such groups have little compunctions with turning on one another, as well as cultivating long-standing feuds with one another. 

In the post-Heavenfall world, organized crime has remained a steady part of the world. Narcotics are still a lucrative trade, along with any number of other criminal enterprises. 
In some regions of the world, particularly central America and the northern part of South America, drug cartels have become the 'de facto' ruling and controlling power, armed as well as, if not better than, some military forces in the region, and being the largest employers and providers of resources, utilities, and commodities for the people that live in territories controlled by them. 
Areas of what remains of Russia have likewise fallen under control of criminal syndicates or families that likewise control the resources in their territories, and the fates of the people within them. Many of them trade resources, smuggling commodities, resources, materials and even people from place to place. 
Around the 'Golden Triangle' in South-East Asia, crime is rife and drug-running, arms dealing, and other forms of crime are particularly prominent, and the goverments in those regions are often on the payroll of criminal enterprises. 

Even the ISL dabbles in criminal activity, using the cultivation and production of opiates to bankroll many of their activities, and trading with the CAA for wealth to finance their would-be state. 

The CAA has grown out of a tenuous alliance of Cartels, becoming almost a national entity, with its' organised hierarchy and necessity to provide for and defend it's people, while supplying them with the necessities of life. Their need to trade for and manage the resources needed to run their operations also makes them a virtual national entity - and the willingness to trade with other partners internationally also contributes to this international perception. 
However, the N/UN and many other countries refuse to recognise them as a legitimate country or government, due to their ongoing criminal activities - many of which undermine their own citizens and their national security, as the CAA has engaged in, or hired others to engage in, criminal activities against their security forces and citizens, as well as supplying and training insurgent, terrorist or criminal individuals and groups to act against them. 

The CAA also recruit, train and finance various PMC's that are non-licenced, providing a destabilizing influence world-wide, as well as providing employment for others in providing security to their operations worldwide.