Mexican Drug Cartels, How It Got To This
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Mexican Drug Cartels, How It Got To This
An Original for bb…  How did this happen…. The war began before Calderon, but no one could have known what lay in store. It was so unlikely; most thought some arrangements would be made. Many just wished that life would return back to way it had always been. Little did anyone predict how pervasive and ingrained this dark secret had become. Only a very few saw the demons lurking in the shadows , even then no one predicted what lay ahead. The true roots of the evils lie within the almost 80 year reign by the PRI and its own predisposition to corruption. The system was well worn, the networks had been laid, and there was a price for everything, and this was all before the age of the Narco. When the PRI lost to the PAN, it shook the foundation of the system. The old way of doings things had radically changed, the networks fragmented, alliances broken, the fragmentation had begun and enabled the chaos to come. This was the cost of years and years of nepotism and corruption. 
The Godfather and His Empire There was a time when one man stood above all others. He was part of the old guard, well entrenched with the workings of the world in which he lived. His name was Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo or El Padrino (The Godfather) and he oversaw over an entire empire; his industry, illegal smuggling. He was the first to create what we now know as the Mexican Cartels. For years his network remained unchallenged, immune to justice. At the time Felix Gallardo was untouchable, too big to fail as they would say. His organization laid the foundation for the TCO’s to come. He masterfully greased the hands of politicos and high ranking military officials. He reached out and began relationships with the Columbians. The relationship he forged with the Columbians was to be worth more than even he could imagine. Seemed like there was nothing anyone could do about El Padrino and his organization. That was until the untimely death of DEA agent Enrique Camarena.  The Attention One Recieves Enrique Camarena, an agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency began working in Guadalajara in 1981. His goal was to find out how powerful the Guadalajara Cartel had become. At the time he was only one of a handful of agents working within Mexico. He spent years infiltrating the Guadalajara Cartel for the DEA and had built close ties to El Padrino. Everything was fine until in 1984 Camarena led a raid on a 10,000 acre plantation called the Buffalo Ranch. Miguel; threw his network of police and federal informers quickly became aware of Enrique’s role in the raid. The ranch was reportedly worth 8 billion dollars. Miguel had Enrique kidnapped, tortured then killed, to serve as a warning to any who might want to disrupt cartel business. The blow back was historic; the United States began the largest murder investigation in its history. It did not take long before Miguel was fingered. The United States put an enormous amount of pressure on the Mexican Government to arrest Miguel. It would take the authorities 5 more years before they would be able to secure his arrest in 1989.  All Empires Eventually Fall But as with all kings, his reign was doomed to fall. Miguel could see the writing on the walls of his mansion, the whispers through the telephones, from his friends in the government, the end was near. He thought he might be able to save what he had built; that he could prevent his subjects from feeding on each other. He was wrong. Little did he know how fragile his empire had become, or the monsters he would release upon Mexican people. Prior to his arrest he held a meeting, in the swanky tourist town of Acapulco. Here he met with his top lieutenants; Arellano Felix, Carrillo Feuntes, Miguel Quintero, Juan Abergo, Chapo Guzman and Mayo Zambada. During this meeting he divided up his empire; Tijuana went the Arellano Felix brothers, Sonora would go to Miguel Quintero, Guzman and Zambada would get Sinaloa and Juarez would go to Carrillo Feuntes. The Gulf would remain in the hands of Juan Abergo. His plan worked for a short while, but greed has its own temptations, and the empire he sacrificed his soul for, was doomed to fall.  Let the Good Times Roll One major shift occurred in the early 1980’s with the Cocaine Wars in Florida. As law enforcement started to seal off the Caribbean route as it was called, the money dried up and the routes shifted west; towards Mexico and its porous border with the US. Prior to this Mexico drug traffickers mainly focused on marijuana and opiate cultivation. El Padrino had already established connection with the Columbian Cartels, so the switch came naturally. Cocaine brought with it vast amounts of cash, but with that cash also came blood. The influx of cash changed the face of the game. It also changed its nature, violence increased as did the tactics used to intimidate enemies. It turned one king into to many; suddenly it was the Mexicans dictating to the Colombians how the game was played. Nothing was too expensive, anything could be purchased, and everyone could be bought. The Cartels became the major suppliers of most drugs to the United States.  The Peace is Broken It wasn’t long before Guzman started warring with the Arellano Felix brothers. In the early nineties the Arellano Felix brothers, Ramon in particular, branded extreme violence as par for the course. Savage daylight hits, terrible stories of torture and vats filled with acid became their legacy. The war between Guzman and Ramon took place during the early 1990’s and cumulated with the killing of Archbishop at the Tijuana airport. But while most of the focus was on the AFO, the rest of Mexico’s criminal bosses weren’t resting; they were quietly making moves in the shadows and they were just beginning. The Gulf Cartel which had been around since the 1950’s smuggling booze and other forms of contraband across the border began consolidating power. The Juarez Cartel run by Carrillo Feuntes, considered the most sophisticated and wealthy of the cartels was enjoying the height of its power. It operating fleet of 747s that were so well known, law enforcement gave Carrillo Feuntes the nickname, lord of the skies. During this period Carrillo Feuntes work closely with a man who would become known as the king maker amongst the underworld. His name was Juan José Esparragoza Moreno or El Azul.  Another Fragmentation In the 1990’s the Lord of the Skies died from complications during a surgery. Many members defected and joined up with Guzman and his gang. Guzman was arrested but his organization was kept afloat by Beltran Levya brothers, Mayo and El Azul. The game was changing; some of the original leaders grew closer, while others grew further apart. Family ties were fostered, while others were severed, the wheels of destiny were slowing starting to turn. Marriage became a popular way of gaining grace, or hedging bets. So with the CDJ losing many of its members to CDS and the AFO losing ground due to key arrests and deaths, the stage was set for what was to come. The Gulf Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel were primed and ready to go toe to toe.   The New Golden Goose Before the Sinaloa and the Gulf beef began another unforeseen factor emerged. The game changer was the introduction of large scale methamphetamine labs. Prior to the late nineties almost all methamphetamine production was made by small groups in small labs all across the heartland of America. When US law enforcement began cracking down on these mom and pop operations, the manufacture of the drug moved south, and in a massive way. Instead of small labs producing small amounts of the drug, the Narcos in Mexico began large scale laboratories that would shock the world; both in their scale and complexity. This gave the Narcos a new and highly lucrative cash supply. It would create several new networks that dedicated themselves to the manufacture of methamphetamines. La Familia, Milenio or Los Valencia Cartel and Ignacio Coronel Villarreal or Nacho began to wield great power. Since this time Mexico has become the world’s largest producer of Methamphetamine in the world. It allowed cartels to have a source of income that did not rely of the Colombians or on the unpredictable weather of the Sierras. It is thought that methamphetamine has superseded the demand for cocaine in the United States and meth use in Mexico has exploded in recent years. It has also added to the increase in random acts of violence and brutality that has been witnessed so far in this conflict.  The Formation of Paramilitary Security The Zetas were another major shift in the way that Mexico Cartels functioned. Salvador Gómez took control of the Gulf Cartel from Juan Abergo after his arrest in 1996. Salvador Gomez close friend and confidant Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, killed Salvador Gómez, earning the nickname Friend Killer as a result. Osiel Cárdenas Guillén came into power paranoid; he had always felt bribes only took you so far. His solution to this problem was to build a paramilitary outfit for his organization. The faction took the name Los Zetas. At the time this was a new development for the cartels. Osiel, nor Mexico could have forsaw the terror which was to be unleashed. With the formation of the Zetas came a new way of confronting both the government and the Gulfs rivals. They used fear and intimidation openly, they were better equipped than the police, what was Mexico going to do, send in the Army? No longer were Narcos to remain out of sight, hiding their acts of terror. They advertised the horror, using public displays of death to send messages. But what set Los Zetas apart was the knowledge they brought with them. These were the same soldiers trained to apprehend the Narcos themselves. Tactics used by the Cartels suddenly become much more militaristic, more sophisticated and more brazen. It wasn’t long before every cartel had their own military wing, carrying out acts of savagery. The escalations have continued unabated to this date, and there seems to be no limit to the brutality and fear they are willing to unleash upon the innocent population.  The Slaves Become Masters The rapid increase of power of the Zetas after Osiel was extradited to the US also change the way most cartels operated, the old rules were challenged and those that were from the older generations were caught off guard by how fast Los Zetas began to obtain territories. They broke from their predecessor and set out on their own. Instead of the focus being on bribes and long standing relationships, the Zetas preferred fear and intimidation to achieve their goals. They also broke with convention by preying on civilians within their territory. They expanded the criminal rackets to include traditional crimes such as extortion and kidnapping but also more exotic rackets such as stealing oil and human smuggling. With this warlord like mentality they became the fastest growing Cartel in Mexico and led to a more militarized approach from the Government. Attacks became more outrageous as time continued. The public was to bear witness to these atrocities; what were once rumors now became national news. La Famililia who evolved from the Zetas took public displays of brutality even further when they threw several severed heads on the floor of a club in Michoacán. This signaled the start of what we now see; the war against the Narcos had become savage, dark, as if taken out of some terrible nightmare.  You Want War, Then War You Shall Have The acts of violence were so outrageous and the impunity so thick, the Government was forced to act. Calderon who himself a native of Michoacán decided to take the war to the Cartels. Keep in mind, the cartels had spent several years now militarizing their forces. Calderon took a bat to the wasps nest and beat it as if it were a piñata. To say the wasps reacted badly would be an understatement. No one could have seen what was to become; the bloodiest conflict to hit Mexico since it revolution nearly 100 years ago. 
The Vacuum The Government took a top down approach recommended by the Americans. It was known as the Kingpin Strategy, this focused most of the effort on taking out the top bosses. The unintended consequence was the fragmentation of some of the most powerful cartels. Some of the cartels splintered never to recover, allowing them to be swallowed up by the remaining cartels. Others went on to rebrand themselves, others simply faded away. This approach led to a dramatic increase in violence; with up and comers eagerly showing their machismo though savagery. A kind of one up man ship emerged, with newer cartels having to show their worth through debauchery. This fracturing and assimilation has rapidly increased with the landscape always changing. This has cumulated with most of the smaller groups falling in line either with the Zetas or the Sinaloa Cartels.  The Breakup of the PRI With PAN winning the election, the old way of business disappeared, payments to those who allowed for business to continue was ruptured. To understand this one must look at the almost 100 years or PRI rule. The PRI functioned through bribes, always had, it was the way business was done. This helped create one of the largest income gaps in the world. The rich in Mexico are very rich, the poor, very poor. Nothing was done without bribes but at least you got what you paid for. Corruption was vertical, money went up and permits and the like went down. What no one thought of was what would happen if the PAN won. When this happened the corruption became horizontal in nature. No one knew who to pay, or what type of protection they would receive. This added considerably to the volatility of the situation in Mexico. Suddenly corruption also became fragmented. For the underworld this was the equivalent of a credit crunch in a recession. It created such a level of uncertainty that reprisals and false agreements became part of the game. Loyalty became a nuanced term, only thought when thinking about the way things used to work. How the upcoming elections will shift this dynamic remains to be seen.  Sinaloa Vs. Zetas With the smaller cartels seeming to have either assimilated or forged alliances with either the Sinaloa or Zeta Cartels, violence is sure to continue. While grisly displays seem to be on the rise, overall violence in Mexico is stabilizing. This is deceiving however; the security of everyday people in Mexico has deteriorated substantially in the past 6 years of war. With low impact crime on the rise and an influx of criminals trying to take advantage of the chaos, the typical Mexican is less secure now than they have ever been. While two cartels are much easier to control than many, the chance of these pacts to fail is great. Fragmentation will surely follow, so the cartel able to maintain its alliances the longest will come out on top. This includes corrupted officials. One thing that is sure, is that no matter what prediction lay ahead for Mexico , we should be expect the unexpected. 
What Lies In Store Most of the victims in this war have been the youth. Mexico has lost a generation of doctors, teachers, judges, innovators and innocents. How does one come to grips with losing so much ? This war has not been fought by old men but rather by those who are lost. Those who see no hope in an honest future, those who dream of romantic stories of gold and fame, believing the horror will not touch them. Children who see nothing but loss and injustice, who believe the only way to gain anything from life is to take it. The youth who would prefer to die young as false kings rather than toil in abject poverty in to old age. This generation, which has thrived on the material, rather than the righteous, has been misguided. The faces of thousands of the unnamed and unseen, the invisible; need to become seen, become visible. Time has a way of healing, but to blind oneself to what has been lost and what continues to be lost; is in and of itself an injustice. Hope is what is missing and there are many things that could be done to change this. Incentives need to shift; the poor need opportunities to make something good out of themselves. Even poor men deserve dignity, when they are not afforded this, many choose the Narco way of life. Hope needs to be available to all not just the elites. Mexico for all its beauty must look at what has become so ugly, not just in terms of this drug war but at society as well. 
Paz, ACI |
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In reply to this post by ArmChairIntellect
ACI, this is excellent! Very well written and researched. It's nice to have all the information in historical order like this, with everyone's names, etc., and all in one place. Definitely one to be bookmarked.
You should submit this to CNN or API! Help to educate the masses better on how Mexico got to this point, and why this election is so important. Again, GREAT JOB! 
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In reply to this post by ArmChairIntellect
I have wondered, too, what would have happened had PRI not lost.
There still would have been some changes in drug movement in Mexico because of the U.S.'s commitment to wiping out the Columbians' Gulf delivery routes. So, with those gone, the overland-through-Mexico ones would still have developed like they did. But how the cartel(s) might have changed is the big question. And then later in the 00's when the U.S. made such an effort to eliminate the local meth producers, of course the cartels stepped in. So I think that still would have happened even if PRI was still in power. But, again, we have to wonder what kind of structure the cartel(s) would have at this point. A nice intellectual exercise, but it doesn't help much, does it? 
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