The Dope

1. Early Drug Use and Prohibition Were Driven by Prejudice, Not Public Health

Sadly, the first marijuana panic had little to do with the drug’s actual effects. It had much more to do with prejudices about the people involved in the trade.

Early drug use was limited. Before the 20th century, marijuana was primarily a medicinal herb, and opiates/cocaine were expensive medicines. Use as narcotics was confined to specific, often marginalized groups like soldiers, prisoners, and Chinese immigrants. Addiction rates were low compared to the U.S.

Prohibition stemmed from prejudice. As Mexico modernized, elites viewed the habits of indigenous healers, poor soldiers, and Chinese laborers as backward and threatening. Doctors and tabloids fueled panics, linking marijuana to madness and violence, and opium to Chinese degeneracy.

• Marijuana: Seen as medicine of the poor, stimulant of the downtrodden.
• Opium: Associated with Chinese immigrants, feared for "degenerating the race."

Laws targeted marginalized groups. Early laws, like the 1920 ban on marijuana, were tied to the idea of substances that "degenerate the race." These laws provided a pretext to persecute groups like Chinese immigrants, leading to arrests, fines, and eventually mass expulsions, despite minimal actual drug use among the general population.

2. Mexican Authorities Established Protection Rackets, Taxing the Illegal Trade

To put it another way, state agents were Mexico’s mafia, trading protection for a cut of narcotics proceeds.

Prohibition created black markets. As drug use was criminalized, illegal markets emerged. Mexican politicians, particularly at the local and state levels, quickly sought to harness the income from this trade, especially as drugs flowed north to the U.S.

Protection rackets formalized. Authorities charged favored wholesalers or traffickers a fee or percentage of profits in exchange for not enforcing the law. Those who refused to pay were arrested or killed. This system was seen by some as a pragmatic way to channel money from an unstoppable trade into public services.

• Esteban Cantú, governor of Baja California (1915-1920), taxed vice (including opium) to fund infrastructure and schools.
• Enrique Fernández in Ciudad Juárez used drug profits for philanthropy, building schools.

Corruption was the mechanism. While observers called this "corruption," it was a complex system. Up to the 1970s, local/state governments controlled these rackets, distributing some funds publicly and trying to limit violence to avoid federal intervention. This early system was distinct from later forms of "grand corruption" or "state capture."

3. U.S. Demand Fueled the Rise of the Golden Triangle as a Production Hub

The bonanza changed the place forever.

WWII cut supply lines. World War II disrupted traditional European and Asian opiate supplies to the U.S., creating a vacuum. Returning U.S. soldiers and existing addicts sought new sources, turning to Mexico.

Golden Triangle emerges. A remote, mountainous region spanning parts of Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua became the primary source. Its geography offered concealment, and existing transport links (railways, ports) facilitated movement north.

• Peasants, often struggling subsistence farmers, found opium poppy cultivation highly profitable compared to traditional crops.
• Early intermediaries were often former revolutionaries or merchants with local knowledge and contacts.

Chinese expertise transferred. While Chinese immigrants were expelled in the 1930s, some shared knowledge of opium cultivation and processing techniques with locals, like the healer Lai Chang Wong and the cacique Melesio Cuen in Badiraguato.

Shift to production. Unlike earlier periods focused on transshipment, the Golden Triangle became a major production zone. This homegrown industry, initially characterized by cooperation among locals and minimal violence, laid the foundation for Mexico's dominance in the U.S. drug market.

4. Federal Police Took Over Rackets in the 1970s, Escalating Violence

It was also the narcs that started to take over the old locally run drug protection rackets.

Nixon's drug war intensifies. U.S. pressure, starting with Operation Intercept in 1969, forced Mexico to escalate its counternarcotics efforts. This led to increased funding and training for Mexican federal agencies, particularly the Federal Judicial Police (PJF).

PJF centralizes control. The PJF, often with U.S. support, began to assert control over the lucrative drug protection rackets previously run by local and state police. They referred to their regional control zones as "plazas."

• This shift marked a move towards "grand corruption," where federal officials, often outsiders to the region, extracted more wealth with less local reinvestment.
• PJF agents became key intermediaries, collecting payments and protecting favored traffickers.

Violence increases. The transition of power was often bloody. New PJF commanders used force to eliminate uncooperative local officials and traffickers, establishing their authority and ensuring payments. This institutional conflict, rather than trafficker rivalries, was a primary driver of violence.

• Conflicts over control of rackets dotted the early years, but became more frequent and intense under federal control.
• PJF tactics included arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings to enforce compliance and gather information.

5. Operation Condor Militarized the Drug War, Unleashing Atrocities

And as Mark and many others found out, it was the narcs—and not the drug traffickers—who introduced widespread, frequent, and ruthless violence to the world of Mexican narcotics.

U.S. pushes eradication. Facing pressure over rising U.S. addiction and ineffective policing, the DEA pushed Mexico to adopt aggressive rural eradication tactics, including aerial herbicide spraying and military occupation of growing zones.

Operation Condor launched. Starting in late 1975, this campaign deployed thousands of soldiers and PJF agents across western Mexico. Funded and equipped by the U.S., it aimed to destroy drug crops and arrest growers.

• Tactics included widespread herbicide spraying (paraquat, 2,4-D), causing environmental damage and health issues for villagers.
• Military occupation led to systematic human rights abuses: beatings, torture (Tehuacanazo), rape, robbery, and extrajudicial killings.

Violence becomes institutionalized. Unlike earlier, more sporadic violence, brutality became a standard operating procedure for state forces. Torture was used routinely to extract confessions, often with judicial complicity.

• PJF agents, often with disturbing backgrounds, became notorious for their cruelty and impunity, operating torture centers.
• U.S. agents were aware of the abuses, often present during interrogations, but failed to report them, prioritizing intelligence gathering.

High cost, limited success. While Operation Condor initially reduced Mexican supply and lowered U.S. heroin purity/overdoses, its long-term impact was limited. Production shifted to other areas, and the violence it unleashed fragmented networks, setting the stage for future conflicts.

6. "The Barbarians of the North" Centralized Federal Rackets in the 1980s

They were the barbarians of the north.

New administration, new power brokers. With the election of President José López Portillo in 1976, a group of officials from northern Mexico, dubbed "the barbarians," took control of key security agencies like the PGR and PJF.

Centralization of rackets. These officials, including Oscar Flores Sánchez (PGR), Raúl Mendiolea Cerecero (PJF), and Arturo "El Negro" Durazo Moreno (Mexico City Police), sought to consolidate federal control over drug protection rackets, creating a more centralized "plaza system."

• PJF commanders were appointed to control specific territories ("plazas") and collect monthly payments from traffickers.
• Money flowed up the hierarchy to the "barbarians" in Mexico City.

Brutal enforcement. Establishing this centralized system involved eliminating uncooperative officials (like prosecutor Jorge Villalobos) and forcing traffickers to pay through brutal extortion and targeted killings.

• PJF agents used torture and murder to ensure compliance and punish those who refused to pay or informed on the racket.
• The system was unstable, facing challenges from other institutions (DFS, military, state police) vying for control and bribes.

Shift to transportation. Under the barbarians, Mexico increasingly became a transit country for imported narcotics, particularly cocaine, rather than solely a production zone. This played to the PJF's strength in controlling airports, ports, and border crossings.

7. The Camarena Murder Elevated the DEA and Exposed State Corruption

Camarena’s murder was a turning point for the Mexican drug trade and the American war on drugs.

DEA agent kidnapped and killed. In February 1985, DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered in Guadalajara, allegedly by traffickers in retaliation for the Búfalo Ranch bust.

U.S. demands action. The U.S. government reacted forcefully, using economic pressure (Operation Intercept II) and public condemnation to push Mexico for arrests. The DEA publicly blamed key traffickers (Caro Quintero, Fonseca, Félix Gallardo) and accused Mexican officials of protecting them.

Investigation leads to arrests and institutional change. The subsequent investigation, led by PJF commander Florentino Ventura, resulted in the arrest of major traffickers and the dismantling of the DFS, which was implicated in protecting the killers.

• The case exposed deep corruption within Mexican security agencies and high-level political protection for traffickers.
• It also fueled rumors of CIA involvement in drug trafficking to fund Central American paramilitaries, adding layers of conspiracy.

Camarena becomes a martyr. Camarena's death became a powerful symbol for the DEA, boosting its budget, personnel, and political influence. It spearheaded a new era of aggressive international counternarcotics policy, including drug certification and increased extraterritorial operations.

Legacy of violence and distrust. While leading traffickers were jailed, the investigation relied on brutal tactics and informants, exacerbating violence and distrust within criminal networks and between Mexican and U.S. agencies.

8. Drug Cartels Seized Control of Protection Rackets in the 1990s

By the mid-1990s drug traffickers—not the state—ran the protection rackets at the plazas.

Cocaine trade explodes. The collapse of Colombian cartels and the signing of NAFTA shifted the bulk of U.S. cocaine trafficking to Mexican groups. The "one for one" system gave Mexicans half the product, dramatically increasing their profits.

Traffickers gain financial power. Flush with billions from cocaine, Mexican traffickers amassed unprecedented wealth, dwarfing the resources of many state institutions. This financial power allowed them to corrupt officials on a massive scale.

State weakens. Mexico's ruling PRI party fractured, and the state faced economic crises and political infighting. Security forces became fragmented and less effective, losing control of territory.

Cartels take over rackets. Capitalizing on state weakness and their own wealth, traffickers corrupted or eliminated officials who ran protection rackets. They established their own control over "plazas," demanding fees from other smugglers.

• This marked a fundamental shift: the taxed became the tax collectors.
• The "Guadalajara Cartel" members, surviving the Camarena fallout, were key players in this takeover.

Increased violence. Cartel control of rackets led to increased violence. Traffickers used their own hitmen or corrupted local police to enforce payments and eliminate rivals, often with extreme brutality. This violence was now about controlling territory and extortion, not just drug flows.

9. Cocaine and Globalization Transformed the Scale and Logistics of the Trade

In a stroke, they added a zero to Mexican drug profits.

Scale increases dramatically. The shift to wholesale cocaine trafficking, particularly after NAFTA, transformed the scale of the Mexican drug trade. Profits jumped from billions to tens of billions annually, making narcotics a dominant sector of the Mexican economy.

Logistics modernize. Traffickers adopted sophisticated business practices to manage the massive flow of cocaine.

• Use of large aircraft (727s) for bulk transport.
• Investment in trucking companies and warehouses near the border.
• Hiring trade consultants to optimize cross-border movement under NAFTA.
• Utilizing banks and financial experts for large-scale money laundering.

New generation of traffickers. The new drug capitalists were often educated, with backgrounds in business or law enforcement, adept at navigating global trade and finance. They blended traditional kinship networks with modern corporate structures.

Globalization facilitates trade. NAFTA and increased global trade provided cover and infrastructure for drug smuggling. The sheer volume of legitimate trade made detecting narcotics hidden in trucks and containers incredibly difficult.

10. Violence Exploded as Institutional Control Fragmented and New Crimes Emerged

New fronts in the new drug war opened up at speed.

State fragmentation continues. The decline of the PRI and infighting within security forces left a power vacuum. Multiple state and local agencies, often corrupt and competing, struggled to assert control.

Rise of new criminal groups. As established cartels fractured (partly due to kingpin strategy), smaller, more localized gangs emerged. These groups often lacked direct links to international drug supply but adopted cartel identities and tactics.

Diversification of crime. Criminal groups expanded beyond drug trafficking, applying protection rackets ("derecho de piso") to a wide range of illicit and licit businesses (kidnapping, extortion, fuel theft, etc.). This spread violence to areas with no history of drug production or transit.

Increased firepower. The end of the U.S. assault weapons ban and increased gun smuggling armed criminal groups with military-grade weapons, escalating the lethality of conflicts.

Intertwined conflicts. Violence stemmed from multiple, overlapping sources:

• Cartel vs. cartel wars for control of plazas and extortion territories.
• Criminal groups vs. state forces (military, federal police, state/local police).
• Conflicts within state forces vying for bribes and power.
• Gang vs. gang violence over local retail drug markets and extortion rackets.

11. The Drug War Fuels Violence; Prohibition Ensures the Trade Persists

Violence, then, is not so much in the DNA of trading in narcotics as in the DNA of prohibiting the trade.

Prohibition creates incentives. The illegality of narcotics generates enormous profits, creating powerful economic incentives for production, trafficking, and corruption that outweigh legal alternatives, particularly in impoverished regions.

Drug war tactics exacerbate violence. Aggressive policing, militarization, and the "kingpin" strategy fragment criminal groups but do not stop the trade. Instead, they fuel infighting, paranoia, and brutality as groups compete for power and survival.

• The use of informants ("divide and conquer") pits traffickers against each other, leading to revenge killings.
• State forces, often corrupt, become players in the violence, fighting for control of rackets or acting as enforcers for favored groups.

Violence becomes self-perpetuating. The cycle of violence, corruption, and impunity becomes entrenched, creating a complex landscape of intertwined criminal and state actors where distinguishing between law enforcement and organized crime is difficult.

Trade adapts and persists. Despite decades of effort and immense bloodshed, the drug trade continues to adapt to changing markets and enforcement tactics. As long as demand exists and prohibition maintains high profits, the trade will find a way, leaving a trail of violence in its wake.

Last updated: May 12, 2025