MEXICO: The Geopolitics of Organized Crime

Abstract: 

Professor Sergio Aguayo places the conversation on organized crime within a larger geopolitical frame, examining the history of the drug trade and looking towards its future in Latin America.

With a presence in 55 countries, the Sinaloa cartel is among Mexico’s largest corporations. The cartel’s leader, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, appeared on the Forbes list of the world’s most powerful people from 2009 to 2013 and likewise has made the publication’s billionaire list, ranking number 701 in 2009. El Chapo has captured the imagination of the media and is admired by many in his home state of Sinaloa as an entrepreneur and self-made man. His business of drug trafficking has also unleashed a storm of criminal violence and terror throughout Mexico...

Author: 
Helke Enkerlin-Madero
Publication date: 
August 19, 2015
Publication type: 
Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies Article