Mexican Drug Cartels - Part 4: The effects in the United States
The effects of the Mexican Drug Cartels beyond the distribution of narcotics into the United States has been encountered in every state in the nation. There have been numerous news articles and research studies
recently released which indicate that the Mexican Drug Cartels are expanding their presence even more.
The Chicago Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration seized 250 kilograms of cocaine and $8 million dollars in a two year investigation which focused on the La Familia drug trafficking cartel based out of Michoacana, Mexico. The seizures were not located in the city of Chicago itself but rather in five western and southern suburbs of Chicago. The DEA was conducting an extensive operation involving the La Familia’s distribution network throughout the United States. The La Familia cartel had ties with trafficking routes in 19 states in the Nation. In Tuscon the effects are far worse than just narcotics trafficking. A series of brazen home invasions have been tied to a wave of drug crime. With over 200 home invasion, three-quarters linked to the drug trade alone the risks to innocent non involved persons is staggering. The majority
of these home invasions have occurred in suburban residential communities.
The crimes that have been quickly linked to the drug trade. Many are due to unpaid debts, some as few as a thousand dollars. But many of them are simply based upon green. One set of cartel linked criminals learns about a load of drugs in a location. They in turn “rip it” and then sell it. Quick profit for limited risk in their point of view. In March 2009, CNN ran a story regarding a drug debt owed by a Mexican national. The dealer was kidnapped and locked in the basement of a home. He was chained, gagged and beaten. He was in the basement for six days without food. This kidnapping didn’t occur in Mexico but in suburban Atlanta.
Atlanta has a growing Hispanic population. Gwinnet County, a community just 20 miles north of Atlanta has seen a dramatic increase in their population. In 1990 a mere 8,470 to 63,727 in 2000. By the 2010
census they are expected to number approximately 140,000.
Most of the drug related violence in Atlanta is linked to the Mexican Drug Cartels in Sinaloa and Gulf. As these two groups continue to battle over drug routes. In mid 2008 in Phoenix Arizona investigated a shooting in which six Mexican nationals killed a man in a local neighborhood. The victim was shot over 100 times, by Los Zetas, once an enforcement arm of one of the Mexican Drug Cartels now rumored to be running their own distribution network. See the October issue of the Gateway Gazette for information on the Enforcer Gangs.
Officers arrested three suspects all Mexican nationals, who were planning on ambushing officers who arrived on scene of the shooting but had run out of ammunition. When the three were taken into custody police recovered tactical clothing, Kevlar helmets and automatic weapons. Drug rip offs are becoming a greater risk for the public but for law enforcement officer’s as well. A robbery crew based out of Queens, New York would identify drug dealing competitors and then rip them off for their money and drugs. They would do this by using fake police badges and using vehicles that resembled police cars, complete with police lights an sirens. In some cases, when this crew couldn’t get the amount of drugs or money they wanted they would torture the victims to give up a bigger drug connection. Repeating the process as they go. It is an all profit business that leaves a trail of injured and dead in it’s wake.
As the influence of these organizations continue to grow the involvement with local groups will also. In the 2010 National Drug Threat Assessment that the Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations continue to increase
their cooperation with U.S. based street and prison gangs to distribute drugs. In many areas, the gangs were
using their alliances with Mexican DTO’s to facilitate an expansion of their mid level and retail drug distribution operations into more rural and suburban areas.The Chicago based Latin Kings street gang utilized their chapter operating out of Midland,Texas purchased cocaine from Mexican DTO’s in south Texas at substantially lower prices than from whole sale traffickers
in Chicago. This savings resulting in increased profits for the street gang and a new source for larger quantities of narcotics. Federal authorities point to the Mexican drug cartels that are ultimately responsible for border violence by having cemented ties to street and prison gangs like El Paso’s
own distribution networks in the United States, and they produce most of the methamphetamine used north of the border. They have even bypassed the Colombians several times to buy cocaine directly from producers in Bolivia, Peru and even Afghanistan.
These same gangs often work as cartel surrogates or enforcers on the U.S. side of the border. Intelligence suggests Los Zetas. They’re known as “Los Zetas have hired members of various gangs at different times
including, El Paso gang Barrio Azteca, Mexican Mafia, Texas Syndicate, MS-13, and Hermanos Pistoleros Latinos to further their criminal endeavors. What will unfold over time is unknown. As law enforcement learns more about the involvement the MDTO’s have within the United States and how they affect crime in their communities will ultimately lead to arrests, increased violence, and the risk to public safety. This very subject will be further explored in the final portion of our five part series later this month.11/19/2010 for the Final part of this 5 part series
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