Organized crime, violence, and territorial dispute in Mexico (2007–2011)

Strategic Resources for Drug Trafficking Organizations and the Geography of Violence: Evidence from Mexico

“…We argue that the geographical concentration of criminal violence in surrounding areas of the studied infrastructures is explained by DTOs' ambition for monopolistic control of them that can lead to logistic, tactical, and economic advantages (Dell 2015;Fuerte Celis et al 2019). Previous studies have highlighted the importance of airports and ports for the shipping of large amounts of drugs (Atkinson et al 2017).…”

“…Similarly, DTOs may consider highways important for the distribution of drugs to nearby cities or specific domestic markets. Furthermore, free passage of drugs to key drug markets like passage through the border with the United States offers a considerable advantage to any DTO, especially if such an arrangement excludes other DTOs from doing so (Fuerte Celis et al 2019). Finally, (illegal) extraction of oil or gas from pipelines provides additional financial resources that can help DTOs increase their income (Berbotto and Chainey 2021;Jones and Sullivan 2019).…”

Public policies against criminal assets in mexico: challenges and opportunities from the north border states

“…This research arises from the following considerations. First, violence in Mexico is strongly related with criminal organizations [4,26], especially Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) [27]. The second consideration is that most criminal organizations seek profits from trafficking illegal goods, so they require complex logistical chains that link the production of goods with the markets where they are sold [7,28].…”

“…It has especially incentivized anti-drug policies [41,43], but some studies have shown that this measure has not had the expected outcomes because it created incentives to forfeit property and money, but not prosecute the actual dealers [58] or the elements that make drugs profitable [59][60][61]. 4 All states have their own forfeiture laws due to equitable sharing programs with the federal government [62], incentivizing state seizures and forfeitures to a level where the revenues from forfeitures often exceed the budget of the law enforcement agencies [42]. This has fostered police abuse, leading to constitutional disputes and several state law reforms across the country [63].…”

“…These strategies constitute an effort to strengthen the government´s capabilities to financially undermine criminal organizations. The research was conducted in Mexico, a country plagued by criminal organizations that control several regions, which suffers from institutional weakness, [2][3][4][5] and where violence reached record levels from 2017 to 2019 [6].The rule criminal organizations exert over different regions relies on the use of violence, that is clearly visible, but especially political corruption, that cannot be easily seen and can be confused with peace and stability [7,8].…”