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Recent violence among drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) in Mexico has resulted in an ongoing demand for new recruits. Juveniles engage in a wide range of activities from lookouts in drug trafficking operations to high-risk activities, such as kidnapping and homicide. Based on ongoing ethnographic work in Mexico and referrals from correctional officials, we conducted in-depth biographical interviews with convicted and active cartel members (N = 79). Our data revealed that similar biographical experiences in communities characterized by a high degree of collectivism laid the groundwork for their entry and continued participation in criminal activity. Through inductive methods, we introduce a theoretical concept that we term a collective trajectory to help explain our subjects’ pathway and criminal careers in DTOs.

The article focuses on a less-discussed issue of social marginalization of people leaving penitentiaries, which is the prevalence of multifaceted health problems experienced by people in this category. It includes poor health status, resulting from, among others, poor housing conditions, harmful or risky lifestyle, and lack of access to medical services. Data from the District Inspectorate of the Prison Service in Lodz, Poland on the health conditions of inmates was accessed. These data were supplemented by qualitative research conducted in 21 juvenile detention centers and 8 prisons across the country, conducting direct observations and In-Depth Interviews (IDI). A total of 198 IDIs were conducted with incarcerated (72) and released (30) juvenile offenders, and incarcerated (68) and released (28) adult offenders. These were complemented by IDIs with experts (50) and Focus Group Interviews (FGIs; 8) with male and female inmates in 4 Polish prisons. The study revealed that mental and physical health is a serious obstacle to social reintegration of ex-prisoners. It is rarely addressed by state institutions. There are strong associations between neglect of health issues in the prison population and increasing social exclusion after leaving prison. As Poland has a restrictive penal policy, former prisoners remain a group with social stigma and little support.

Research introduced here draws on over two years of ongoing qualitative work of low-level drug dealers in a Mexico City neighborhood. Through interviews and participant observation, we explore the social mechanisms that sustain and facilitate informal drug dealing. Our findings indicate that the sale of illicit products, especially drugs, is a needed supplement to household income that expands and contracts according to economic need. Drug selling is integrated into the context of small licit (front) businesses in which dealers sell small amounts of marijuana and cocaine to trusted clients as a (back) business. These “back businesses” are protected by those who operate them, and family, community members, and corrupt officials who benefit from their existence. Finally, the dealers that we studied occupy a unique niche in the overall structure of drug dealing in the neighborhood by remaining under the radar by not attracting the attention of drug cartels.

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