The cartel is one of the world’s most successful groups of organized crime. They are also one of the deadliest. While such presence has resulted in a crackdown of organized crime in Mexico, the cartels have not shied away. In fact, their presence in Mexico has become greater than ever. By analyzing the cartels use of violence, culture and recruiting, one can see how open the cartel is to the public, allowing it to cement its presence in Mexico.
The cartels employ violence so frequently that murder has become normalized in Mexican culture. The amount of killing that is carried out by the cartels is so high that a day without a murder, in areas with heavy cartel activity, may seem strange. Grillo’s statement, describing the scene after a murder,
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reveals how killing has become just another activity during the day: “within an hour, the corpse had been carted away and waiters were prepping tables for lunch; you could eat some tacos and have no clue there had been an early morning murder” (6). This scene shows how the cartel’s frequent assassinations have left many cities in Mexico numb to death. The scene painted by Grillo reveals how quick the citizens get over the death. So quick, that the mourning process appears to be skipped. Killing has become a daily routine that Mexican citizens have to avoid, and hope that they are not the next victims. The use of violence carried out by cartels deeply contrasts the mafia’s use of violence. The mafia used violence sparingly, maintaining a delicate balance of peace and death in order to assert their control and power over a region. On the other hand, cartels seem to draw their influence and power by inflicting death and fear with no second thought. Killing in areas were cartels are present has become a norm in Mexico. Like Grillo put it: “Another day. Another murder” (154). The Cartel’s presence has become so great in Mexico that it has created a culture around the lifestyle, further spreading their influence.
Cartel activity has become so prevalent in some parts of Mexico that it has actually obtained its own sub-culture, coined narcocultura. Narcocultura is a combination of dress, music, dialect and many other cultural aspects that have rises from the cartel’s influence in Mexico. One aspect of narcocultura that has taken the country by storm is the soundtrack of cartels: corridos. Artists sing about killings, drug transactions, kidnaps, and many other aspects of the cartel. The popularity of theses songs is revealed by Grillo: “on the streets of Culiacan, market stalls sell hundreds of CDs whose covers show artists with Kalashnikovs, clad in cowboy hats, ski masks, or paramilitary uniforms” (177). The cartels’ influence is materialized through these records and reveals how engrained they are in society. There presence in Mexico is not hidden but out in the open. These records show the cartels’ ability to not only to infiltrate Mexican popular culture, but also how the population has become infatuated with narcocultura. It it has become a lifestyle that Mexican have attempted to replicate through singing, dress, and slang like cuerrno de chivo (goat’s horn). Through this culture, the cartel has created a pop-sensation that has helped spread their
influence. Another aspect of the cartel that shows the openness of the organization is the recruitment of the everyday population, which may have contributed to the cartel’s success. Unlike the mafia’s cultural and familial requirements, the cartel recruits just about anyone to carry out tasks that range from smuggling to assassinations. The diverse backgrounds that work for the cartel includes “peasant farmers, slum teenagers, students, teachers, businessmen, idle rich kids, and countless others” (Grillo 139). The diversity in the profession, and more importantly, economic background sheds light on cartel’s immense influence. Unlike other professions that attract mostly economically disadvantaged individuals, the cartel does not seem to discriminate. Its doors are open to anyone who is interested in the trade. This openness has allowed the cartel to maintain influence in many branches of society, thus permitting it to tap into resources like police forces and businesses. The cartel’s willingness to partner with almost anyone has spread its influence immensely, making it one of the most successful group of organized crime. The cartel’s openness may have contributed to its success. Its use of violence, popular culture, and ability to recruit just about anyone has allowed it to spread through Mexico. The cartels seem to look look at the drug trade in a Machiavellian manner, using any means necessary to spread its success and accumulate money. The cartel’s presence is known by the public and police forces, but it has not stopped it, it has actually fueled the organization.
Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduria General de la Republica, PGR) had issued information related to the conformation of the seven principal drug cartels present at Mexico:
Alfredo Corchado — is the author of the book named " Midnight in Mexico:A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness”. We are, probably, all interested in finding out the facts, news, and gossips about Mexico. This country was always associated with something mysterious. For me personally, the title of the book seemed to be very gripping, I was interested in revealing the secrets of life in Mexico, thus I decided to read this book. I was really curious, what can Alfredo Corchado tell me about the life in this country, the country, where the constant massacre is the picture, people used to see. In his book, the author tells the reader about the real situations, which took place in Mexico, reveals the secrets of the people’s lives and tells the story from the “inside”. He describes the way he lives his life, and does his work. The " Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness” is a memoir. Author tries to transform his own experience into the story line. Corchado shows the reader the darkest episodes of Mexican society, while relying on his own experience.
In both the movie, La Misma Luna, and the newspaper series, Enrique’s Journey, migrants are faced with many issues. The most deadly and scarring issues all relate back to bandits, judicial police, and la migra or Mexican immigration officers. The problems that arise are serious to the point of rape, robbing, and beating. It is not easy crossing the border illegally and secretly, but the successful ones have an interesting or even traumatic story about how it worked for them.
A drug cartel is a combination of drug manufacturing and drug transportation organizations under one person’s leadership. While there is numerous drug cartels around the world the Mexican cartels have arguably more power than most in regards to territory and membership. This power has allowed them to have main control in not only Mexico but in the United States as well making them a key player in the drug trade. In 2006, the Mexican government challenged multiple drug cartels such as the Sinaloa cartel, The Los Zetas, and the Gulf cartel, beginning the Mexican Drug War. This war has gone on for the past ten years and is still continuing today, causing the death of 10,000 people a year on average. The Mexican Drug War is having a negative impact
...l Narcotraficante: Narcocorridos & The Construction of a Cultural Persona on the U.S.-Mexican Border. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Another reason why narco corridos are an influence to society is their disrespect towards women, since the genre of music is about glorifying drugs and illegal money, artists tend to sing about luxuries cars parties and they also make women seem like an object that can be bought by their illegal activities. In narco corrido videos there is always more than one women half naked dancing around a man that thinks he deserves it all. It has always been around that women back then would do whatever their husband would tell them to do even if men would go around with other women, well narco corridos try to bring the message back of men having more than one women and just showing off the money they have living a criminal life. This attitude going on
A. Attention Getter: A man 's face was found stitched on to a soccer ball, his body was found cut into 7 separate pieces in different locations with a single note that read "Happy new year because this will be your last". Headlines liked these are becoming much more common in Mexico, but who 's responsible for gruesome deaths like these? A drug war heavily lead by the Sinaloa Cartel.
Our team presentation focused on three Latino gangs, MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha), the Mexican Mafia and the Los Surenos gang. My part of the presentation was to provide information on the type of crime these three gangs are known to commit. The crimes committed by the MS-13 gang are varied, violent, and take place all over the country. The FBI even put together a task force called the MS-13 National Gang Task Force in December of 2004 to try to put a stop to this gang’s activities. (www.fbi.gov). Los Surenos or Sur-13, originally based in Los Angeles, has also branched out from turf wars with rival gangs to “for profit”, violent crimes across the country. The Mexican Mafia has a similar story to tell as well in regards to gang crimes, which again range from respect crimes, and retaliatory violence to crimes for profit.
The Anglos in the corrido, meanwhile, are not one-dimensional villains but “complex figures who contain positive as well as negative qualities” (Mendoza 146). These distinctive traits of a corrido – setting, conflict, and characterization, among others – ... ... middle of paper ... ... l. “Ge-or-ge,’ she called in an exaggerated Gringo accent. He looked back.
Mexico has a long history of cartels the deaths, drugs and weapon trafficking is in all time high increasing year by year. “Mexico's gangs have flourished since the late 19th century, mostly in the north due to their proximity to towns along the U.S.-Mexico border. But it was the American appetite for cocaine in the 1970s that gave Mexican drug cartels immense power to manufacture and transport drugs across the border. Early Mexican gangs were primarily situated in border towns where prostitution, drug use, bootlegging and extortion flourished” (Wagner). They keep themselves armed and ready with gun supplies shipped from the U.S, taking control of the drug trades. The violence is spilling so out of control that they overthrew the Mexican government.
Over the last several decades, violence has consumed and transformed Mexico. Since the rise of dozens of Mexican cartels, the Mexican government has constantly been fighting an ongoing war with these criminal organizations. The cartel organizations have a primary purpose of managing and controlling illegal drug trafficking operations in Central America and South America to the United States. Violence on a massive and brutal scale has emerged due to the nature of the illegal drug trade. Because the drug trade is vastly widespread, cartels are often fighting one another and competing in business. Mexican authorities count at least 12 major cartels, but also talk of an untold numbers of smaller splinter groups. (Taipei Times). Five cartels from Mexico have risen to become the extremely powerful amongst all the drug organizations operating in Mexico. The Guadalajara Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Tijuana Cartel, the Juarez Cartel, and the Gulf Cartel. These organizations, along with other distinguished Mexican cartels, have plagued Mexico with violence, terror, and fear due to the essence and nature of illegal drug trafficking.
Beith, Malcolm. “The Current State of Mexico’s Many Drug Cartels.” Insight Crimes. n.p., 25 Sep.
Mexican drug cartels rise to dominance. THE WEEK Publications, 25 January 2014. Web. The Web. The Web.
Beith, Malcolm. (2013, September 24). The current state of Mexico's many drug cartels. CTC Sentinal
Narcocorridos (Regional Mexican Music that tells a story related to the drug business) are not only songs: they are a reflection of a violent and excessive reality lived in various parts of Mexico under the War on Drugs. Corridos (Regional Mexican Music that narrates a story) originated during the Mexican Revolution as a way to spread information and stories--Narcocorridos have retained the efforts of rebellion against the government however, the idea of “rebellion” is based on celebrated violent cartel practices. The desperate economic situation, government corruption, and inefficient educational system has lead to the expansion and acceptance of drug cartels among low-income communities who often receive protection and goods from the cartels.