Mexico's Drug Problem
Mexico's drug traffickers rose to supremacy on the American continent after the demise of the big Colombian cartels in the 1990s.
The cocaine is grown in the Andes but the Mexicans control 90% of the routes into the US market.
They also have a large share of the market in cocaine and crystal meth. Profits are estimated at $8bn - $25bn (£4bn - £12.5bn) a year.
An increase in domestic consumption in Mexico has made the trade even more lucrative. With so much money involved, fighting between the cartels has gone haywire.
The main battle is between the Sinaloa Cartel (headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman) and the Gulf Cartel (whose veteran leader Osiel Cardenas was extradited to the US in January).
President Felipe Calderon ordered an offensive that began in December last year, with 7,000 soldiers sent to the central state of Michoacan, where, among a series of violent incidents last year, five severed heads were rolled onto a nightclub dancefloor.
In June, the traffickers sent a warning note to the public security chief in the eastern state of Veracruz, accompanied by a severed head.
The cocaine is grown in the Andes but the Mexicans control 90% of the routes into the US market.
They also have a large share of the market in cocaine and crystal meth. Profits are estimated at $8bn - $25bn (£4bn - £12.5bn) a year.
An increase in domestic consumption in Mexico has made the trade even more lucrative. With so much money involved, fighting between the cartels has gone haywire.
The main battle is between the Sinaloa Cartel (headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman) and the Gulf Cartel (whose veteran leader Osiel Cardenas was extradited to the US in January).
President Felipe Calderon ordered an offensive that began in December last year, with 7,000 soldiers sent to the central state of Michoacan, where, among a series of violent incidents last year, five severed heads were rolled onto a nightclub dancefloor.
In June, the traffickers sent a warning note to the public security chief in the eastern state of Veracruz, accompanied by a severed head.
Use the feedback form below to submit your comments.
Use the form below to email this article to your friends.
- Fears Grow for 150,000 People As Flood Chaos Hits Mexico
- Mexico Escapes Devastation As Dean Cools Off
- Mexico Braces for Hurricane Dean As Battered Jamaica Declares State of Emergency
- US to Help Fund War on Cocaine Cartels in Mexico
- US to Take on Mexico's Drug Barons
- Moth Threatens Prickly End for Mexico's National Symbol
- Chaos Erupts As Mexican President is Sworn in
- Mexican Mps in Battle for Podium
- So Goodbye at Last Mr Fox
- Art Thieves Threaten to Erase Mexico's Past
- Woes Pile Up for Mexico's Outgoing President
- Mexico Fury As Bush Gives Go-ahead to Border Fence
- Protesters Defiant As Conservative Wins Mexico Poll
- Mexico Facts: Interesting Facts About Mexico
- Fun Facts About Mexico
- Talavera Pottery – Own a Piece of Old Mexico
- Traditional Mexican Clothing
- Mexican American War
- Drug Queen of the Pacific Nabbed!
- New Stamp Issued By Mexican Government Incites Cries of Racism