Narco Empires: Unraveling the Intricate Tale of Mexico’s Drug Cartels

In the pulsating tapestry of international crime, where threads of power, corruption, and tragedy weave together, one nation stands at the forefront of a tumultuous narrative: Mexico. Behind the scenes of picturesque landscapes and vibrant culture lies a gripping story, more than a century in the making, entwined with the crucial border shared with the United States. Unknown to many, this tale involves a sinister dance of drug cartels, a war that has claimed thousands of lives and altered the destiny of nations.

Our story begins in the 19th century with the rise in popularity of cannabis, hailed for its medicinal properties in Mexico. However, as societal attitudes changed, political leaders cracked down on cannabis users, ironically setting the stage for what would become a revolution fueled by drug cartels.

Fast forward to March 5, 1985, in Angostura, Sinaloa, Mexico. Mexican Federal Police unearth two bodies, those of Alfredo Zavala and Enrique Camarena Salazar, DEA agents on the frontline against drug trafficking. Their tragic demise marked a turning point. Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, born in Mexico, became a martyr defending his country against the Guadalajara cartel, managed by powerful drug lords. The Reagan administration sought justice, sparking a series of events that would unfold over the following years.

The war on drug cartels, officially declared in 2006 by President Felipe Calderon, escalated into a Royal Rumble involving the army, police, secret services, and rival factions of drug traffickers. Seventeen years of bloodshed resulted in nearly 400,000 victims, 33,000 in 2021 alone, with 80,000 missing and 360,000 forced into migration.

Let’s look back to the 1920s for a minute. In the era of American prohibitionism, Mexicali and Tijuana, near San Diego, became havens for Californians seeking vices, including opium. The border, less guarded then, facilitated easy passage for drug couriers and laid the groundwork for a thriving drug trade. The rise of powerful figures like Esteban Cantu, governor of Baja California, showcased a system where protection rackets funded public infrastructure.

Opium, introduced by Chinese immigrants, found a prosperous market in Mexico, with Antonio Juan Jen Pratese facilitating its distribution. The Torreon railway became the lifeline for transporting poppy harvests. The unwritten law prevailed — repression simply pushed the phenomenon into illegality, without showing hope of solving it.

President Lazaro Cardenas’ attempt in 1940 to dispense morphine for medical use and treat addiction inadvertently clashed with US interests. The US, being a major supplier of morphine to Mexico, clamped down on exports, leaving addicted patients without treatment. Cardenas del Rio’s plea to Washington to lift the ban was accepted under strict conditions.

The 1950s saw a shift, with the French Connection taking center stage as Marseille and Corsican criminals transported heroin from France to North America, often through Mexico. Meanwhile, the clans of the Golden Triangle regrouped in the shadows, resuming marijuana and poppy cultivation. Leopoldo Sanchez Celis, governor of Sinaloa, initiated a practice of hiring renowned criminals as bodyguards, leading to the emergence of powerful cartels.

During the ’60s, the United States intensified its War on Drugs, but the Mexican authorities struggled to curb drug trafficking. Operation Condor, akin to the CIA’s activities in South America, targeted drug traffickers linked to communist movements, equating them with the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. US support for the Mexican army, including helicopters for herbicide spraying in the Golden Triangle, left unwitting farmers exposed to lethal consequences.

By 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was founded, composed of former corrupt Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) agents. However, their collaboration with Mexican forces led to violent control measures, resulting in thousands of arrests, often for minor offenses. The Camarena case in 1985 exposed the murky world of drug trafficking and its tangled alliances, even implicating the CIA.

The ’90s saw the cartels exploiting political divisions, cooperating with political parties to undermine the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The PAN (National Action Party) rose to power in 2000, signaling a change, but the cartels continued their reign. President Felipe Calderon’s war on cartels from 2006 to 2012, with support from the US, aimed to dismantle criminal networks. However, the approach, focusing on arrests rather than addressing corruption and cartel finances, proved futile.

The subsequent years saw a proliferation of cartels, with the Zetas splitting into rival factions, the rise of the Sinaloa Federation, and the emergence of numerous armed groups. The National Guard, established in 2019, included members from the notoriously corrupt Federal Police, showcasing the complexity of the issue. The arrest of Salvador Cienfuegos, former Minister of Defense, in 2020 highlighted the deep-rooted corruption.

As the Mexican government grapples with the multifaceted challenge of drug cartels, the story continues to unfold to this day, leaving a nation entangled in a web of crime, corruption, and tragedy. The true extent of the matter remains elusive, hidden behind layers of deceit, power plays, and international politics.

That's all for today, folks,

see ya,

the writer