Juarez Drug Cartel Essay

Juarez Drug Cartel

Abstract

This paper will discuss the origins of the Juarez Drug Cartel, the key players of the cartel, the mission of the cartel, the type of drug being trafficked and the cartel as it stands today. In order to fully understand the meaning of a cartel, examples will be given throughout this paper. The history of the Juarez Drug Cartel will be peeked into in order to paint a picture of how long this cartel   has been in existence, and to show how leadership of cartels are passed down generation through generation. The Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization, also known as the Juarez Drug cartel or VCFO, controls one of the primary transportation routes for billions of dollars worth of illegal drug shipments annually entering the US from Mexico. Amado Carrillo Fuentes, Vicente’s brother, founded (globalpost.com) The cartel in 1993 under the sponsorship of his uncle.   Amado brought his brothers and later his son into the business. After Amado died following complications from plastic surgery, a brief turf war began over leadership of the cartel. Vicente emerged as the winner, and formed a partnership with his brother, nephew, and a few others named the Beltran Leyva brothers.

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The definition used for this thesis of a drug cartel is a structured group, which exists for an extended phase of time.  A drug cartel is large in number of members, covers a large amount of territory, and has extensive connections with foreign and native criminal groups.  The group uses violence and fraud to continue its criminal activity, and its main source of profit is from drug trafficking. A drug cartel differs from a drug trafficking organization, because it is an amalgamation of independent organizations that agree to work together under the direction of specific leaders and a main boss.  A drug trafficking organization can be considered the single unit that when combined with other drug trafficking organizations form a drug cartel.  Not every Mexican...