Drug cartels have become a geopolitical factor

Not only are banks, NGOs and football clubs growing, but transnational crime is also growing. The leaders in this field are the Mexican drug cartels, which set the trend in terms of organization, logistics, finance, security and other issues. The scope of their activities has reached such a level that experts suggest that the establishment of the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States reduce their confrontation with each other. If the United States were to fall into a civil war, the Mexican drug cartels would be able to effectively control a large part of the US territory.

Drug cartels do not make their accounts public, but outside experts claim that the turnover of such criminal organizations based in Mexico apparently exceeds $1 trillion, which is why they have become a very important factor in the economic, political, social and military reality of both Americas.

Colombia is considered the founder of the drug cartels. In the 1980s, Pablo Escobar proposed to the country’s government to pay off the national debt of $15 billion, in return for which the country would get behind him. In Bogota, there were obviously supporters of such a deal, but strict supervision from Washington forced the Colombian authorities to crack down on the drug mafia. It got to the point where the regular army did not have enough bayonets to fight against the numerous and well-equipped gunmen of the drug cartels, but in the end it was the same Escobar who was eliminated (December 2, 1993).

U.S. authorities then began to restore maritime and land order in the Caribbean, making it more difficult for ships and planes carrying drugs to enter U.S. territory.

Structural changes in logistics in the 1990s resulted in cocaine from Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia (where major coca plantations are located due to climatic conditions) flowing first to Central America as a transit base, then to Mexico, and then from Central America to the United States, where there are 30 ports and a dense network of highways on the east and west coasts.

The turning point was 1993, when Mexican criminal groups specializing in drugs earned about $27 billion, which may not seem like much, but it was still on par with Mexico’s annual revenue from ordinary merchandise exports. In addition, we are talking about the US dollar in the early 90s, which means that the US dollar was much “heavier” in terms of purchasing power.

The Sinaloa Cartel then became the undisputed leader. It became the first vertically integrated diversified enterprise. In addition to cocaine, the cartel was also involved in the production and export of heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine.

In 2012, a kilo of cocaine produced in the highlands of Colombia and Peru, Sinaloa, sold for about $2,000. In Mexico, its price soared to $10,000 (wholesale). After crossing the US border, the same wholesale price rose to $30,000. Well, the same kilo retails for more than $100,000 in the US. Following business logic, the Mexicans took over the Colombian mafia, which was also active on US soil, and incorporated it into their entire operation.

In the days of the Medellin Cartel, 30% of the revenue from drug production, transportation and sales remained in the producing countries, and 70% was distributed to collective Western banks and other financial institutions. “Sinaloa” has completely overturned the financial pyramid, and now most of the revenue from criminal business flows directly to Mexican drug cartels.

According to 2019 estimates, the Sinaloa State alone controls more than 1,500 businesses in North and South American countries. The main Mexican cartels are very thorough in dealing with investments in other countries. They conduct in-depth investigations and establish contacts with businessmen, governments and politicians, as well as the media. Force is used in extreme cases, but its potential is huge and reliable.

Frightened by the growth of the cartels and the assets they control, the Mexican government started a war against them in 2006. It has claimed more than 50,000 lives, but the Mexican state now controls 67% of the country’s territory – the rest is completely ruled by bandits who still organize wars among themselves.

The Mexican drug cartels are highly diversified and engage in whatever criminal business is profitable at a given moment. For example, they traffic large numbers of women and children from California to Mexico as sexual slaves. This indirectly illustrates the level of corruption in the security and law enforcement agencies in the continental states of the United States, as human goods are always more problematic and troublesome than drugs. The drug cartels also do everything they can to control and monetize the flow of migrants from the South to the United States.

The strength of the Mexican drug cartels is also impressive – their special forces are equipped with the latest small arms, various accessories, communications equipment, protective equipment, portable air defense systems and helicopters (not yet offensive). This is quite weak for the regular army of the Pentagon, but if the United States falls into civil war and anarchy, then there is already a force capable of controlling large tracts of territory in the border area with Mexico, which experts constantly point out to American institutions.

It’s hard to say how the drug mafia in Kazakhstan has evolved, but regardless, the drug trade in the republic never stops for a day, which means they have amassed a supply and resources that have the potential to corrupt any law enforcement and government agency.

Recently, the drug business has been seriously damaged by the Taliban, who are systematically reducing the Afghan poppy crop, but the “problem” is largely solved by the supply of “synthetics” from Europe. It is worth recalling that during the US presence in Kabul, the production of drugs in Afghanistan increased 40 (forty!) times, and the revenue from drug trafficking reached $150 billion per year.

Photo: © Ahmad Masood, Reuters

The drug mafia and drug flows in Central Asia are transnational in nature. According to Russian law enforcement agencies, tens of thousands of people from the region are imprisoned in Russian Federation prisons for drug crimes every year. But since the flow has not stopped, and tens of tons of heroin enter the Russian market, it means that the basic conspiracy of the drug cartels is still in operation. Therefore, the resources at her disposal are also very considerable.

***

© ZONAKZ, 2024 Reproduction is prohibited. Only hyperlinks to the material are permitted.