New Delhi: Around a week after the President of the United States Donald Trump began to increase border security, the agents of US Border Patrol exchanged gunfire with suspected cartel members near the country’s border with Mexico. The incident occurred near Fronton in Texas and has once again brought forth the danger that Mexican cartels pose to the US soil. Meanwhile, President Trump has called for the State Department to label the Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
Mexican cartels: The criminal underbelly in North America
What are the Mexican cartels?
Drug cartels, as you can guess, are independent organizations which have been formed to control the competition, production and distribution of illegal drugs. Normally, the drug cartels tend to be extremely well-organised with ample financial power, efficiency and ruthlessness. Since the 1980s, the drug cartels have dominated the narcotics trade on the international map. While Colombia drug cartels are probably more infamous thanks to the exploits of a certain Pablo Escobar, the drug cartels in Mexico are considered to be more powerful, with their tentacles having a far greater reach than the Latin American country.
When did the Mexican cartels rise?
Mexico, in the 1960s and the 1970s, mainly supplied marijuana. However, after the flow of drugs from Colombia slowed down after the US crackdown in the country, Mexico became the major source of cocaine. In the late 1980s, the members of the Arellano Félix family, especially the brothers Ramon and Benjamin, created the Tijuana cartel, which became Mexico’s one of the most powerful cartels. The cartel and its associates began to ship hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine into the US, establishing Mexico as the foremost supplier of such drugs in the world. The rise of other cartels, notably the Juárez, Gulf, and Sinaloa cartels, consolidated this reputation with the latter cartel accounting for the majority of illegal drugs in the US at one point.
For more than two decades now, the authorities in Mexico have been waging a fierce and deadly battle against the drug cartels. But the crime organisations have not been successfully subdued yet to rampant corruption and economical problems in the country. Every year, thousands of Mexicans, including politicians, journalists and students die in the conflict between the government forces and the cartel members. Since 2006, when the government began its war on the cartels, over 431,000 homicides have taken place. While the US has assisted the Mexican government to weed out the cartels and stop the inflow of drugs into the country, the crime syndicates continue to thrive with their power seemingly unabated. The US, over the year, has provided Mexico with billions of dollars to modernize its security forces, reform its judicial system, and fund development projects aimed at curbing irregular migration.
What do the Mexican cartels traffic?
The Mexican cartels are the main force when it comes to importing and distributing cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and marijuana in the US. While heroin and methamphetamine are mostly produced in Mexico, cocaine is mainly produced in Columbia. The Mexican cartels transport the cocaine from Columbia to the US. Along with China, Mexico is a source of fentanyl which is easy to produce and is 50 times more potent than heroin.
Which are the largest Mexican cartels?
When it comes to Mexican drug cartels, the first name that comes to mind is that of the Sinaloa Cartel. It was founded and formerly led by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, and is one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico. It has influence in the government and public institutions, and apart from trafficking fentanyl, it also engages in migrant smuggling, weapons trade etc. It has immensely strong hold in Mexico and reportedly operates in more than 47 countries. While El Chapo was extradited from Mexico to the US in 2017, the Sinaloa Cartel continues to thrive.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is another major drug cartel in Mexico, and possibly at this time, much more efficient in its operation than the Sinaloa Cartel. Founded in 2010 after a split in Sinaloa, it has rapidly become one of the major played in the drug trafficking sector. It controls almost the entire country and has presence in all the 50 states in the US. It smuggles fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and several other drugs to the US. Thanks to its control over several Mexican ports, the Jalisco Cartel has a greater access to the global drug supply chain. The other major drug cartels in Mexico include Beltrán-Leyva Organization, Los Zetas, Guerreros Unidos, Gulf Cartel, Juárez Cartel, La Familia Michoacána, and Los Rojos.
How do Mexican cartels smuggle drugs into the US?
Most of the illicit drugs entering the US are seized at official ports of entry. The drug traffickers use several tactics to avoid detection at the US-Mexico border. They hide drugs in vehicles or maritime vessels, smuggle them into the US via underground tunnels and use drones or other aircraft to fly them over the border. After the drugs are smuggled into the US, the street gangs and local groups act as retail-level distributors throughout the country.
This article examines the powerful Mexican drug cartels, their history, operations, and the significant threat they pose to the US. It details the cartels’ involvement in drug smuggling, their various trafficking methods, and the ongoing conflict between Mexican authorities and these criminal organizations. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
