Drug cartels form with the purpose of controlling the supply of the illegal drug trade and maintaining prices at a high level. The formations of drug cartels are common in Latin American countries. Rivalries between multiple drug cartels cause them to wage turf wars against each other.

Understanding the Context

Cartel members engage in a wide range of violent illegal activities aimed at protecting their criminal empires and expanding their profits such as drug trafficking, money laundering, weapons trafficking, human smuggling, prostitution, and extortion. Drug cartel, an illicit consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition and control the production and distribution of illegal drugs. Drug cartels are extremely well-organized, well-financed, efficient, and ruthless. The Cartel del Noreste has been accused of trafficking weapons, drugs and people, and is characterized by its violent practices and extortion.

Key Insights

A Southern California family allegedly tied to the Sinaloa Cartel is behind bars, but a fifth suspect is still on the run, after feds busted what they say was a major fentanyl, meth and ghost gun o… Family members of Sinaloa Cartel arrested as $10m reward offered to ... Colombian security experts are warning that the reported fall of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho," the leader of the powerful Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) may not weaken... Members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the most powerful and feared criminal organisations in Mexico, have unleashed a wave of violence across 20 Mexican states.