The War on Drugs

The Roots of Mexicos Drug Cartels

The birth of most Mexican drug cartels is traced to Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo (The
Godfather), Rafael Caro Quintero and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo (Don Neto).
Together they founded the now- disintegrated Guadalajara Cartel around 1980.
Controlled most of the illegal drug trade in Mexico and the drug trafficking corridors
across the Mexico and U.S. border.
They started off by smuggling marijuana and opium into the U.S., and had close
connections with Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar

Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo

Gallardo was born on a ranch in Bellavista on the outskirts of
Culiacan, Sinaloa.
He first graduated high school and studied business in college.
Took a job as a Mexican Federal Judicial Police Agent.

He worked as a family
bodyguard for Leopoldo
Sanchez Celis, the governor
of Sinaloa state.

Through Leopoldo, Gallardo

met Pedro Aviles Perez,
another of the governors
bodyguards. Perez had a
second job as a drug
smuggler, controlling most of
the marijuana and heroin
smuggled to the U.S. He was
also the first known drug lord
to use an aircraft to smuggle
drugs to the United States.

Perez liked Gallardo, took him under his wind and taught him
everything he needed to know about growing marijuana.
On September 15, 1978 Perez was killed in a shoot-out with the
federals.
Gallardo inherited the business, moving his product into the U.S.
through Tijuana.

Enrique Kiki Camarena

Kiki was a an undercover
agent for the U.S. DEA who
looked into Gallardos gang
He befriended Gallardo,
while providing information
to the DEA.
Because of Kikis intel, the
DEA convinced Federal
Judicial Police to launch a
major attack in Chihuahua.

Rancho El Bufalo
The Mexican army hit Rancho El Bufalo.
It consisted of 450 Mexican soldiers
supported by armed helicopters.
It covered almost 300 acres.
They destroyed more than 10,000 tons of
marijuana. About $3 billion and $8
billion dollars.
Thousands of laborers worked at Rancho
El Bufalo. Most of them were not getting
paid and were tricked into working there.
The plantation belonged to Rafael Caro
Quintero.

The assassination of Kiki

Kiki was leaving the American consulate in Guadalajara
when five gangsters attacked him, threw a jacket over his
head, and threw him into the van.
Kiki was tortured at Gallardo's ranch over a 30-hour period,
then murdered. The corpse was decomposing, hands and legs
still bound. His jaw, nose, cheekbones and windpipe were
crushed, his ribs were broken, and a hole was drilled into his
head with a power drill. He had been injected with
amphetamines and other drugs, most likely to ensure that he
remained conscious while being tortured.

His body was found a month later on

March 5, 1985 in the state of
Michoacn.
Later, it was discovered that the five
men who abducted Kiki were not
gangsters, but Jalisco police officers.
After the murders, Rafael Caro
Quintero fled to Costa Rica but was
later arrested and extradited back to
Mexico, where he was sentenced to
40-years in prison for murder.
Following his arrest, the Guadalajara
Cartel disintegrated.
The DEA was still on the lookout for
Gallardo.

Tijuana Cartel
Gallardo decided to divide up the
trade.
His nephews, the Arellano Felix
brothers, would control and operate
out of Tijuana, which came to be
called the Tijuana Cartel.
Responsible for the transportation,
importation and distribution of
multi-ton quantities of cocaine,
marijuana, as well as large
quantities of heroin and
methamphetamine, into the United
States.

Jurez Cartel
The Juarez Cartel was assigned to Amado Carrillo.
Net worth: ~$25 Billion

Sonora Cartel
Miguel Caro Quintero (Rafael Caro
Quinteros brother was given Sonora
Cartel.
He was arrested in 2001 and
extradited to the U.S. in 2009.
While imprisoned, it is believed
Miguel is still running the Sonora
Cartel.

The Gulf Cartel

The Gulf Cartel was given to Juan Garca
brego.
Around 1994, it was estimated that the Gulf
Cartel handled as much as "one-third of all
cocaine shipments" into the United States
from the Cali Cartel suppliers.
Juan was arrested in1996.

Sinaloa Cartel
The territory between Tijuana and
Sonora, which was called the
Sinaloa Cartel, was inherited by
Joaquin Guzman AKA El Chapo.
In 2011, the Los Angeles Times
called it "Mexico's most powerful
organized crime group.
As of 2015, the Sinaloa Cartel is
the most active drug cartel involved
in smuggling illicit drugs into the
United States and trafficking them
throughout the United States.

May 24, 1993

In May 1993 the leaders of the Tijuana Cartel
ordered to kill El Chapo.
They found that he would be in a Mercury Grand
Marquis at the Guadalajara International airport.
The hit men set up an ambush for the car.
When it arrived, the hit men began shooting.

Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo

The two men in the car died on the
spot and so did five other travelers
who happened to be in the field of
fire.
El Chapo was not in the car. The
man the hit men thought was El
Chao was none other than a
Cardinal in the Catholic Church,
Cardinal Juan Jose Posadas
Ocampo.
The people of Mexico were
shocked and horrified by the
murder. The fact that the cartels
could murder a Cardinal spoke
about their power and lack of
morality

Felipe Calderon
In 2006, Felipe Calderon
became Mexicos president.
He began to fight against the
drug cartels on an even
higher level and involved the
U.S.
He increased military activity.

Operation Michoacn
On December 11, 2006
President Felipe Caldern
ordered the military to send
4,000 troops to Michoacn,
where drug-related crime
had left over 500 dead.
This operation is viewed as
the starting point of the war
between the government and
the drug cartels.

More than 100,000 people were violently killed in

Mexico during President Felipe Calderons six year
presidency term.

80% of cartel members are younger than 25.

For young people at the margin of society, to be
part of a cartel brings instant respect.
Drug cartels mostly recruit poor kids in rural areas
with no work and no opportunity.
For many Mexicans, cartels are the government.
Cartels have been known to hand out Christmas
presents and give out money.
Most people look up to drug dealers in view of the
fact that they help more than the government does.

Works Cited
Drugs, Money and Violence: The Toll in Mexico. CNN, Cable News Network, http:// www.cnn.com/
2016/02/15/world/mexico-drug-graphics/index.html.

Morris, Stephen D. The Impact of Drug-Related Violence on Corruption in Mexico. The Latin Americanist,
vol. 57, no. 1, 2013, pp. 4364. https://justiceinmexico.org/.

F. de Jonge On January 29, 2016. Mexico and the Drug Cartels: A History of Fascination | Peace Palace
Library. Peace Palace Library Mexico and the Drug Cartels A History of Fascination Comments, http://
www.peacepalacelibrary.nl.