Methamphetamine Traffickers in Mexico Become Global Wholesalers
After a long day of work in the highlands, a coordinator for several clandestine methamphetamine and fentanyl laboratories in the…
Mexico Fentanyl Production Migrates North as Chapitos Death Threats Loom
Huddled in the back of a fruit and vegetable stand in the south of Culiacán, the hitman scanned the area…
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…
Brokers: Lynchpins of the Precursor Chemical Flow to Mexico
When Ana Gabriela Rubio Zea contacted her chemical suppliers in China on behalf of a new client, she needed to…
Mexico’s 2024 Election Could Spark Violent Criminal Realignments
Mexico’s increasingly diverse and horizontally integrated criminal landscape could enter a period of violent upheaval in the wake of political…
A Look From Within: Navigating Extreme Violence in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Jesús Ángel Estrada* has helped many at-risk youth as a social worker for a non-profit in Ciudad Juárez, the sprawling…
‘Children of War’: How Violence and Addiction Rob the Youth of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
On the face of one of the most emblematic mountainsides in Ciudad Juárez, onlookers can read the enormous text of…
GameChangers 2023: US-Mexico Tensions Undermine the Fight Against Fentanyl
The differences in how the United States and Mexico approach the issue of fentanyl trafficking came into stark relief over…
After Arrests, Extraditions, and Infighting, What Does the Future Hold for Mexico’s Chapitos?
The Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel had a tough year with several high-profile arrests, extraditions to the United States,…