The United States’ largest trading partner is its southern neighbor, Mexico, accounting for over 16% of total trade.^[1]census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/highlights/topcm.html Yet Mexico is home to a multitude of criminal gangs, regional criminal organizations and transnational criminal organizations, as well as six foreign terrorist organizations. Unlike in the U.S., criminal organizations are deeply rooted in Mexican society and part of the social fabric. Collectively, Mexican cartels and criminal organizations employ one-fifth of the Mexican workforce.^[2] doi.org/10.1126/science.adh2888 American law enforcement officers in every corner of the country are impacted by the actions of Mexican criminal organizations. The old adage that “knowledge is power” is relevant for American law enforcement seeking to understand what motivates cartels, how they operate and what may be helpful when encountering Mexican citizens on American streets.

In June 1971, President Nixon declared drug abuse to be America’s “public enemy number one.” The major flaw in the terminology of the “war on drugs” is the basic fact that wars are fought against people, not commodities. We have fought this war targeting those who profit from, manufacture, deliver, sell, smuggle, traffic and consume illegal drugs. We have dismantled cartels in Colombia and Mexico, removed drug kingpins like Pablo Escobar, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and, most recently, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera. We have even removed indicted governmental leaders involved in the drug trade, such as Panama’s Manuel Noriega and Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.^[3]justice.gov/opa/media/1422326/dl More money is spent today on this war than ever before,^[4]statista.com/statistics/618857/total-federal-drug-control-spending-in-us yet the same products remain on our streets, along with additional ones such as synthetic opioids. For some, it is the equivalent of trying to stop a boat from sinking by simply scooping out leaking water with a cup while leaving the hole untouched.

Organized crime in Mexican society

American law enforcement officers often encounter the end result of Mexican cartel and other criminal organization actions and influence. The impact on American law enforcement is undeniable, whether responding to an overdose; seizing drugs, guns or money; rescuing trafficked individuals; or arresting those involved in crimes tied to cartel activities stemming from operations in Mexico. The U.S. continues to adjust its methods to target cartel illicit activities. In 2025, six Mexican cartels were designated as foreign terrorist organizations, and over the past year, Mexico has transferred almost 100 cartel members to the U.S. These transfers include former leaders of the Guadalajara, Sinaloa, Los Zetas and Jalisco New Generation cartels.

The U.S. strategy^[5]apbweb.com/2026/02/the-war-on-drugs-is-evolving sends a clear message to criminal organizations: first, that cartel leaders will remain a target, and second, that even if they are already in Mexican custody, the U.S. intends to bring them into its custody. However, organized crime cannot survive and prosper in Mexico without the existence of corruption and collusion among civil leaders and authorities at all levels of government. Mexico is notorious for politicians, government officials and security personnel working with organized crime groups. If not directly working with them, officials may simply ignore criminal activity.

Corruption at all levels in Mexico has created a lack of trust between the populace and national, state and municipal governments, as well as law enforcement officials. A former Mexican police officer told me that he quit his state police position and fled his home state due to coercion to work for the cartels. This is common among those who sought to serve their communities in law enforcement, only to discover the harsh reality. Organized crime groups in Mexico are so powerful that the public views them as a de facto or parallel government.

For years, reporting has linked mayors, police chiefs, governors, high-ranking officials and even presidents to Mexican criminal organizations. In 2016, Alex Cifuentes testified against El Chapo Guzmán that former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto received $100 million from the Sinaloa Cartel. In 2020, U.S. authorities arrested the former Mexican minister of defense, General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, in Los Angeles on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.^[6]apnews.com/article/mexico-obrador-military-drug-trafficking-854bba46f715fbb9211937b7e07bc0a5 In 2023, a jury in Brooklyn convicted Mexico’s former secretary of public security, Genaro García Luna, for cartel-related activities tied to the Sinaloa Cartel.

Mexico’s criminal organizations once simply paid government officials and police to look the other way, and they even invested narcotics profits into local communities. Now, criminal organizations are running rackets in almost every sector in Mexico, from legitimate industries like agriculture, mining and manufacturing to illicit activities like human trafficking, smuggling and the narcotics trade. They need politicians, security personnel and government officials to assist in these efforts. Cartels motivate Mexican officials to comply through violence, intimidation and rewards, creating a system of criminal subnational governance. There is no area of Mexico that is not influenced by criminal organizations. The U.S. is taking notice. In 2025, the U.S. revoked more than 50 visas of Mexican officials — most notably, the governor of Baja California.^[7]theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/14/us-revokes-visas-mexican-trump-drug-cartel-crackdown

The collusion between Mexico’s criminal organizations and those responsible for civil security makes it nearly impossible for citizens to trust the criminal justice system. Mexico’s criminal impunity rate is over 95%,^[8]theguadalajarareporter.net/index.php/news/news/regional/58911-impunity-in-jalisco-over-95 and crimes committed often include law enforcement participation. One of the most notable examples occurred in 2014, when Mexican police reportedly turned over 43 students to cartel members in the state of Guerrero.^[9]smallwarsjournal.com/2024/01/05/social-network-analysis-guerreros-unidos-crime-syndicate To date, only the remains of three have been discovered.

U.S. challenges

The lack of trust in Mexico’s criminal justice and intelligence apparatus is challenging because of the deep-rooted corruption in Mexico. Often, authorities are not voluntarily working for criminal organizations, but the fear of doing so is part of the social fabric. Assassinations of politicians, law enforcement officers and journalists are common. Disappearances of Mexican citizens occur daily. Citizens and visitors are always being watched. One cartel even used a hacker to track and kill FBI informants.^[10]abc7.com/post/el-chapo-guzmans-sinaloa-drug-cartel-used-hacker-track-fbi-official-killed-potential-informants-audit-says/16880340

Joint U.S.–Mexico law enforcement efforts are often viewed by U.S. law enforcement as difficult due to the lack of trust in Mexican authorities. This became apparent when Mexican authorities were left out of the plans to capture Sinaloa Cartel leader El Mayo, as well as the subsequent deal allowing Sinaloa Cartel members to legally enter the U.S.^[11]cbsnews.com/news/sinaloa-cartel-leader-family-enters-us-deal-trump-administration-mexico However, since then we have seen a successful operation to remove the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), El Mencho, using American intelligence.^[12]nypost.com/2026/02/26/us-news/cias-help-killing-mexican-drug-lord-el-mencho-is-far-from-the-only-us-mission-in-latin-america The CJNG is the largest and most dangerous Mexican cartel. While it is too soon to know the full extent, removing El Mencho will likely lead to the CJNG fracturing and increased violence, as has been seen when other cartel leaders have been removed.

Conclusion

Corruption, collusion and impunity are embedded in Mexican society as the accepted practice among crime groups, citizens, and government officials and law enforcement at all levels. Unfortunately, changing the status quo in Mexico remains a long way off. The entire Mexican criminal justice system is ineffective, from the political apparatus to the courts and corrections. However, the U.S. has driven more significant change over the past year than in recent decades, using both new and established methods. Unfortunately, Mexico is no safer for those living there, but the U.S. has put criminal leaders and those colluding with them on notice that policies are changing.

American law enforcement officers encounter the effects of cartel activities, and understanding the source and influence of cartels on Mexican society allows officers to be proactive during enforcement actions. Cartels demonstrate effective ways to coerce and corrupt individuals; therefore, if officers understand the environment from which those they encounter come, interactions, trust and intelligence-gathering can increase throughout agencies.