Drug Cartels

An illicit consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition and control the production and distribution of narcotic drugs. Drug cartels are extremely well organized, well financed, efficient, and ruthless. Since the 1980s, they have come to dominate the international narcotics trade.

The current U.S. war on drugs began under the Nixon administration. Following his victory in the 1968 presidential election, Richard Nixon declared that drug abuse was “public enemy number one.” Under Nixon, efforts to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States became increasingly focused on curtailing foreign production of marijuana and heroin. It was during the 1970s, however, that a growing U.S. demand for cocaine led to the creation of the earliest drug cartels.

Colombian Drug Cartels

The Medellín drug cartel of Medellín, Colombia, began in the mid-1970s when Colombian marijuana traffickers began smuggling small quantities of cocaine into the United States. As the trade grew, a diverse group of entrepreneurs became involved, ranging from well-respected individuals with backgrounds in ranching and horsing to petty criminals. The growing demand for cocaine soon prompted the expansion of the trade beyond small amounts tucked into suitcases. The cartel purchased private planes to carry its shipments, constructed more sophisticated drug laboratories, and even purchased a small island in the Caribbean for refueling its aircraft.

Violence, lapses in organization, and competition from the emergent Cali cartel (centered in Cali, Colombia) fractured the Medellín cartel in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Pablo Escobar, leader of the Medellín cartel, became one of the most wanted men in the world and was forced into hiding. A special Colombian police task force found and killed Escobar in 1993, leading to the primacy of the Cali cartel.

The Cali cartel had a more subtle style and sophisticated approach than the Medellín cartel. The members of the Cali cartel quickly reinvested their drug profits into legitimate businesses. They deliberately undermined the Medellín cartel as it became increasingly unpopular and violent. The Cali cartel went so far as to help Colombian police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) track down Pablo Escobar. Though many leaders of the Cali cartel were arrested in the 1990s and are currently serving 10- to 15-year prison sentences, it is widely believed they are still running their business from jail cells, with the cooperation of the Colombian government.

Other Drug Cartels and Narco-Terrorists

In the 1960s and early 1970s, Mexico was known primarily as a supplier of marijuana. However, as U.S. efforts in Colombia slowed the flow of drugs from South America, Mexico emerged as a source of cocaine and heroin to meet U.S. demand. The Arellano-Felix cartel, based in Tijuana, Mexico, has been responsible for the shipment of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine into the United States since the 1990s.

Organized-crime groups in Asia, Africa, Italy, and the former Soviet Union have also been linked to the sale and production of illegal narcotics. Israeli, Russian, and west European drug traffickers are primarily responsible for the sale and distribution of MDMA (Ecstasy). Criminal groups in Southeast and southwestern Asia use New York City as a hub to move heroin into the United States. From there it is distributed up and down the eastern seaboard and into the Midwest. The sale and distribution of marijuana from Southeast Asia is generally limited to the West [Page 220]Coast, but marijuana also enters the United States from Canada.

...