W3OCDPP

Drug Trafficking 7

Organized Crime Group Analysis

2. Organized Crime Group Analysis

Drug trafficking is an example of an organized crimes in which per the report from the Justice Department, the Mexican drug cartel makes approximately $39 billion annually. The gross revenue earned by this cartel in exporting the drugs to the United States is at approximately $6.6 billion. In this article, we are taking a keen interest in the largest drug trafficking organizations in the United States, which is The Mexican drug cartel. The main areas covered in this article include its multinational and national structure and its operating methods as far as drug business is concerned.

National and Multinational Structure and Operating Methods

The Mexican Cartel has its roots both in the national and the international drug market. This organization has its origin in Mexico, and its top management organ is based in Mexico. It is necessary to note that the origin of the drugs that they deal in is also their original country Mexico.

At the multinational level, they have their presence in most countries in the world with its market in the main continents being America and some parts of Europe. In every country, they have representatives and the major areas they control. Drugs from the sources are smuggled across the borders of those countries into their territories from where the distribution begins. Every country has the cartel leader who is all under the overall gang leader called their president. Every group leader in the countries is, therefore, answering to the president. As opposed to their traditional hierarchical culture which was very rigid, the cartel currently has a more relaxed structure. In this structure, they have divided the market into regions. Each of the regions has a governing body working as its nerve center.

In their operations, the cartels control the greater path of production from the actual production of the drug to its transportation and its sales. This is a precautionary measure. The cartel only trusts itself so are the other cartels. They want to keep everything about their business to themselves to avoid the irregularities such as leakage of the information. They grow the drug if it is a plant product of manufacture in the case of manufactured products, per article, ("Cocaine Incorporated", 2012), they then smuggle them into their territories from which they are disseminated into the streets through their agents who are part of the street gang called the Mexican Mafia. They often launder the money from the sales through a restaurant, and it is then sent back to Mexico. To control the different aspects of the production plan, the members of this gang often turn the situation into violence as most of them are addicts to these drugs.

When we speak of organized crime, none worse than the Mexican drug Cartels. Right now, there is a “spill -over,” in what is being called DTO’s (Drug Trafficking Organizations) in Mexico. Mexican cartels are vying for control with “mini cartels” in a bloody decent that is spilling over into the U.S Southern Boarder and well beyond. Violent and concerning to cities that go well beyond San Diego, Los Angeles, stretching to distribution routes to Little Rock, Wisconsin, Chicago, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware, and Atlanta. “Law Enforcement officers working far from the United States- Mexican Border on routine do not handle or have the knowledge of main Mexican DTO’s or what type of activities they are involved in” (Longmire, Sylvia. 2012). These Mexican DTO’s run drugs in higher demand cities in and out with ease before law enforcement gets word of it. We may see a certain corrupt law enforcement official working or getting paid by high end Mexican Cartels for heads up and when would be the right time to smuggle it to these cities and then the streets never nark. Here is a bit of corruption and operational method that these Cartels will get away with, unassuming non- Hispanic U.S citizens willing and able to assist with DTO’s drug operation via money payment in return or by shear threat will do the Cartels drug assistance and organize for them in the homeland while using fire fighters, assistant baseball coaches. The U.S Attorney’s Office in Denver Colorado reported thirty- five people, including these individuals that were a part of an affiliated gang connected to the Cartel that networked the distribution of 20 kilograms of cocaine in a week in the Metro area (USMA. EDU). This drug war is highly unusual and can be as if its uncontrollable because of the magnitude of power and lucrative money involved. And the smaller gangs and mini cartels are fighting and violently killing for the leftovers. Law Enforcement is having to be announcing new programs of investigation into this war and Mexican DTO’s.

Relationship to the Past and Current Role in Illicit Activities

Almost everything about this group both in the past and present is illegal. Per the director of Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Mexican cartel fuels heroin epidemics that sweeps the United States. Heroin is a prohibited drug, and its impact on human health makes it a significant threat to the United States population yet that is one of their products. The cartel even sells the drug cheaply to seize the market. As far as the prohibition on drugs is concerned, a report says that the government views the Mexican cartel as a national threat. Just like the government has its drug syndicates to help limit the usage of these drugs, the cartel also has its parallel syndicate to control the production and distribution of its drugs.

Since 2011, Per the report, an article ("Mexican Drug Cartels and the Art of Political Puppetry," 2016) several scandals showing the collusion of several politicians and the drug cartel have hit the public. It is argued that this cartel funds some of the politicians with the aim of getting the protection of their territories when they get to power. Several law enforcement officers have also been caught in this mess in the name of them taking a section of drug money in their areas of jurisdiction and return keeping quiet about the organization existence in those areas.

Drug trafficking and organized crime are connected in the sense that they are the main source of income for many of the criminal organizations operating in the region. Organized crimes tend to take over and control law-enforcement institutions. Once they gain control, it can gain income through kidnappings, extortion, and establishing protection rackets. The more it expands over a national territory, the more likely it becomes a national threat to our country. In order to control the drug trafficking sales, criminals need to control the territory in which they operate. By protecting the local bars, strip clubs, convenience stores, and street dealers very closely, will ensure continuous business for them.

Conclusion

Based on the statistics drawn, ("Mexican Drug Cartels and the Art of Political Puppetry," 2016) Mexican drug cartel still poses a threat to the government of the United States. The involvement of the cartel with politicians who offer them the protection makes it very hard to fight it. It is becoming difficult to fight them since they are reducing their prices and selling cheaper every time the fuel prices are reduced. Despite foreign policy efforts and attempts to combat this fight for decades, drug trafficking is the single largest market for illicit drugs on the planet today. However, the current drug trafficking process may be today, the critical focus is to ensure we have strong, honest, and reliable law enforcement officers willing to prevail from the organized crimes.

References

Calderon, F. (2015). Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime. Retrieved from http://hir.harvard.edu/article/?a=11786

Davila, A. (2016, April 26). Mexican Drug Cartels and the Art of Political Puppetry. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ana-davila/mexican-drug-cartels-and-_b_9773294.html

Keefe, P. R. (2012, June 16). Cocaine Incorporated. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/magazine/how-a-mexican-drug-cartel-makes-its-billions.html

Longmire, S. (2012). MEXICAN DTO INFLUENCE EXTENDS DEEP INTO UNITED STATES. Retrieved from https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/mexican-dto-influence-extends-deep-into-united-states