Vortex of Evil: Gangs and Narcos in Tapachula, Mexico
Sitting on a rock in a street on the outskirts of Tapachula, on Mexico’s southern border, Poison and Malandro share…
Mexico’s Extreme Election Violence Explained
Political candidates in criminally strategic states like Chiapas, Guerrero, and Michoacán saw an outburst of violence this election cycle in…
Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG)
The Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG) is a transnational criminal group that emerged from the…
Extradition of Precursor Chemical Broker Hits Heart of Synthetic Drug Trade
Mexico’s extradition of a chemical broker to the United States marks a significant step against these middlemen, who occupy an…
DEA’s Emphasis on Defeating Cartels Oversimplifies Fentanyl Industry
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s “National Drug Threat Assessment 2024” presents Mexican cartels as the hegemonic force behind the United States’…
DataInSights: Why Are There More Women in Mexican Prisons for Organized Crime?
New data on Mexico’s female prison population suggests a rise in the number of women behind bars for involvement with…
Is Mexico’s Family-Focused Counternarcotics Strategy Working?
With the arrest of a top cartel leader’s brother, Mexican authorities are again resorting to an often ineffective strategy of…
Unmasking the Foreign Players on Ecuador’s Criminal Chessboard
Ecuador declared war on 22 domestic drug trafficking gangs in January, proclaiming them terrorist organizations and arresting over 11,000 suspects.…
Beyond China: How Other Countries Provide Precursor Chemicals to Mexico
On September 21, 2021, Javier Algredo Vázquez was on his way to a US law enforcement office to reclaim chemical…
Criminal Violence Paralyzes Mexico’s Southern State of Guerrero
Ongoing battles between several crime groups over lucrative criminal economies like extortion have sparked a new wave of violence in…