Thread: Your Guide to the Mexican Drug Cartels

Your guide to the Mexican drug cartels

March 24th, 2011 3:00 am ET

Dave Gibson

There are several major drug cartels currently operating inside Mexico. The groups are extremely violent and have become very bold, regularly murdering police officers and various government officials. These cartels account for more than 80 percent of the illegal drugs sold in the United States, including marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin.

A list of the cartels follows:

-Tijuana Cartel…Run by the Arrelano Felix family. The cartel nearly collapsed in 2002, after Ramon Arrelano Felix was killed by the police, and his brother Benjamin was taken into custody. However, the cartel has since strengthened, and continues to be a major player in the smuggling of marijuana and cocaine into the U.S.

-Sinaloa Cartel…Infamous for the smuggling of cocaine from Columbia, and heroin from Southeast Asia. They also produce their own brand of heroin. U.S. law enforcement has identified Sinaloa Cartel distribution centers in Arizona, California, Texas, New York, and Chicago, where street gangs such as MS-13 actually distribute the drugs.

The cartel is headed by JoaquÃ*n "El Chapo" Guzmán, the world’s most-wanted drug trafficker, whose net is approximately $1 billion. Forbes Magazine recently listed him as the 701st richest man in the world.

-Gulf Cartel…Based in Matamoros, often boasts of relationships with corrupt officials. They also have major operations in the city of Nuevo Laredo and account for the increased violence now being seen there.

-Los Zetas…Began as an elite paramilitary group of enforcers, many of whom were actually trained at U.S. military bases, ironically, in an effort by the United States to aid the Mexican government in their fight against the cartels. Upon their return to Mexico, they were recruited by the Gulf Cartel, who offered them a much higher salary than did the government.

Consequently, the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas have declared war upon one another.

-Juarez Cartel…According to the U.S. State Department, the Juarez Cartel "controls one of the primary transportation routes for billions of dollars worth of drug shipments entering the United States from Mexico annually."

In the past, the Juarez Cartel publicly posted hit lists containing the names of Juarez police officers. Many of those officers have been murdered, and many more have simply fled the city.

Kidnappings, torture, and shootouts have become a way of life in violence-plagued Juarez. That Mexican city which shares a border with El Paso, TX, saw 3,311 murders in 2010.

-La Familia Michoacana …Based in Michoacan, they are also known for their vast influence over corrupt politicians. In May 2009 alone, Mexican authorities arrested 10 mayors and 20 local officials after they were implicated through an investigation into the ultra-violent La Familia Cartel.

If La Familia cannot buy-off a politician (Often, because they have already accepted bribes from a rival organization.), they simply kill him. In April 2009, congressional candidate Gustavo Bucio Rodriguez was shot to death at the gas station he owned. Only days earlier, the body of Lazaro Cardenas Mayor Nicolas Leon was discovered. Leon had been tortured and shot to death, with the initials “FMâ€

A list of the cartels follows:

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