Characteristically, organized crime is defined by a more or less formal structure that endures over time, is directed toward a common purpose by a recognizable leadership operating outside the law, is often based on family or ethnic identity, and is prepared to use violence or other means to promote and protect common interests and objectives. Major new characteristics of organized crime at the end of the 20th Century are the global canvas of traditional criminal activity; the growth of transnational links between criminal organizations and between criminal organizations and other groups; and the growing ability of international criminal organizations to threaten the stability of states, to undermine democratic institutions, to hinder economic development, to undermine alliance relationships, and to challenge even a superpower. Although there are a number of major criminal organizations with international connections, two now have a global reach and directly affect U.S. interests: the Colombian cocaine cartels and Chinese criminal groups organized around Triad secret societies. Some of the drug cartels have forged relationships with a number of terrorist organizations, particularly the Sendero Luminoso in Peru and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. International criminal groups in the United States and worldwide are likely to expand due to the economics of production, international ungovernability, immigration streams, porous borders, trends in technology, and the relative disorganization of law enforcement.