Drug Cartels Archives - Americas Quarterly

Latin American Organized Crime’s Real Target: Local Government

Instead of seeking influence over presidents and legislatures, the region’s criminal groups are increasingly focusing on governors and mayors.

A Mexican National Guard member monitors a checkpoint in Chiapas, Mexico, in June 2023.

Chiapas Fears Organized Crime, and Military Intervention

Ascendant cartel power on the Mexico-Guatemala border is alarming Indigenous communities, but so is the prospect of militarization.

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