The Gaitanista Army, also known as the Gulf Clan, is Colombia’s largest and richest non-state armed criminal organization, having emerged from the dissolution of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary forces in the mid-2000s. Initially co-founded by former paramilitary leader Daniel Rendón Herrera (alias "Don Mario"), the group later incorporated veterans from the leftist Popular Liberation Army (EPL) guerrillas, adopting a centralized command structure and framing itself as an armed movement dedicated to protecting civilian communities. With an estimated 9,000 members, the Gaitanista Army maintains a presence in approximately one-third of the country’s municipalities. The organization funds its operations through involvement in drug trafficking, controlling crucial supply routes along the Atlantic coast, managing illegal mining, and executing widespread extortion against businesses and large landowners.

Los Rastrojos is a Colombian criminal organization that emerged in 2002 as the armed wing of Wilber Varela (alias “Jabón”) during an internal conflict within the Norte del Valle Cartel. While the group originally focused on protecting drug laboratories and trafficking routes, it rapidly expanded to becoming one of Colombia’s most powerful criminal organizations by 2010, with operations spanning over a third of the country’s provinces. The group suffered a major collapse in 2012 following the arrests and surrenders of its top leadership, including the Calle Serna brothers and Diego Pérez Henao.

Brothers Fabio and Manuel Vasquéz Castaño founded the ELN, a Marxist-Leninst group, in 1964 to defend Colombians whom they believed to be victims of social, political, and economic injustices perpetrated by the Colombian state. The Colombian military decimated the ELN in 1973; however, the group was able to rebuild from just 65 members. The ELN's involvement in the drug trade and kidnapping practices helped the group grow to over 4,000 members at its height in 1999. Though the ELN has been in steady decline since 2000, the group has remained involved in peace talks with the Colombian government from 2014 through to 2015.

Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) is a Shiite militant and political organization operating primarily in Iraq. AAH was founded as a splinter group from the Mahdi Army in 2006 under the leadership of Qais al-Khazali. The group is backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) and promotes Iran’s interests in Iraq. AAH currently focuses on its political control of Iraq and has become a trusted tool for the IRGC Quds Force (IRGC QF) and its commander Esmail Ghaani.

Al Shabaab is a Salafi militant organization seeking to build an Islamic state in Somalia. Although the group is based in Somalia, Al Shabaab has also conducted attacks in neighboring countries, including Kenya, Djibouti, and Ethiopia. Al Shabaab emerged as an independent organization around December 2006 after the dissolution of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), for which it had served as the military wing. Since the late 2000s, Al Shabaab has had close ties to Al Qaeda and has sought to frame the Somali struggle as part of a global jihadist movement. The group has engaged in bombings, suicide attacks, and armed assaults against the Somali government,  religious minorities, private civilians, foreign troops, diplomats, and aid or non-governmental organization workers.