my answer is too focused on current events but i'll post anyway. a prison gang in brazil called PCC (the words translate to english as: prime capitol command). prisons in brazil lack the kind of supervision you'd expect in the west so prison gangs have become very powerful. for the past 15-20 years the PCC gang in particular has exerted almost complete control over brazilian prisons. the crime organization expanded its reach to the favelas to the point where entire districts of rio de janeiro were controlled by a gang that was confined to a prison. the leadership had easy access to cell phones and other communication and that's how they managed to expand their influence. anyways this question will probably get deleted (or at least my post will because it addresses something that is not yet 20+ years old), so just look up brazil's PCC gang. in 2006 they managed to incite city-wide riots in rio and other locations because the state began to undermine their authority.