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National Drug Intelligence Center |
Mexican DTOs control the illicit drug market in the South Texas HIDTA region through direct ties with sources of supply in Mexico and South America, established cross-border smuggling operations, and expansive wholesale distribution networks. From established bases of operation in Mexico and through operational cells in Brownsville, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Laredo, McAllen, and San Antonio, Mexican DTOs smuggle large amounts of illicit drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Drug Trafficking Organizations, Criminal Groups, and Gangs Drug trafficking organizations are complex organizations with highly defined command-and-control structures that produce, transport, and/or distribute large quantities of one or more illicit drugs. Criminal groups operating in the United States are numerous and range from small to moderately sized, loosely knit groups that distribute one or more drugs at the retail level and midlevel. Gangs are defined by the National Alliance of Gang Investigators' Associations as groups or associations of three or more persons with a common identifying sign, symbol, or name, the members of which individually or collectively engage in criminal activity that creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. |
The Gulf Cartel and The Alliance2 are the most influential large-scale Mexican DTOs operating in South Texas. The Gulf Cartel, based in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, has historically regulated drug smuggling along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas, primarily in the Mexican states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, through the use of "gatekeepers." The January 2007 extradition of Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Cardenas-Guillen will most likely have a minimal effect on drug smuggling through South Texas. Established gatekeepers in Mexican border cities such as Matamoros, Reynosa, Miguel Alemán, Nuevo Laredo, Piedras Negras, and Ciudad Acuña will enable the organization to retain control of cross-border drug trafficking, at least in the near term. However, The Alliance launched a violent campaign in 2003 against the Gulf Cartel after the arrest of Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Cardenas-Guillen in an attempt to gain control of the corridor leading to the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas; much of the violence has been centered in the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo. The Alliance has so far failed to wrest control of this key smuggling corridor from the Gulf Cartel.
Mexican DTOs operating in the South Texas HIDTA are extremely sophisticated, resilient, and adaptive to law enforcement actions. Many of these DTOs, particularly those affiliated with the Gulf Cartel and The Alliance, possess communications technology, advanced weaponry, and intelligence capabilities that rival or surpass U.S. federal, state, and local law enforcement capabilities. Using specialized communications devices, Mexican DTOs are able to break the encrypted radio transmissions of law enforcement agencies at the border. Unlimited budgets allow Mexican DTOs to purchase assault weapons and military-grade weaponry that they use to protect drug shipments from rival traffickers and law enforcement officers. Mexican DTOs have also established extensive intelligence and counterintelligence networks on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border to monitor law enforcement efforts aimed at disrupting or dismantling their drug trafficking operations. They have even hired private armies consisting of former Mexican soldiers to handle security and enforcement activities.
Some Mexican DTOs have diversified their criminal activities from drug trafficking to other profit-generating criminal endeavors. They are heavily involved in firearms trafficking and automobile theft and are becoming more active in alien smuggling, extortion, and kidnappings for ransom. Some of these criminal activities lack a direct drug nexus; however, the proceeds invariably support drug trafficking operations in South Texas.
Mexican DTOs have established ties with local prison and street gangs--ties that provide them with even greater leverage over the South Texas HIDTA region. Both the Gulf Cartel and The Alliance use various gangs in South Texas to perform enforcement activities, including kidnappings and murders. Gangs such as Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos (HPL), Mara Salvatrucha (MS 13), Mexikanemi, also known as Texas Mexican Mafia, and Texas Syndicate have been linked to the drug trafficking activities of large-scale Mexican DTOs.
Mexican DTOs supply local prison and street gangs such as HPL, MS 13, Raza Unida, Tri-City Bombers, Latin Kings, Texas Syndicate, and Mexikanemi with wholesale and retail quantities of illicit drugs for distribution throughout South Texas. Mexikanemi is the most influential. The gang is based in San Antonio but maintains a network of street dealers throughout South Texas. In addition to receiving drug supplies from Mexican DTOs, Mexikanemi also smuggles illicit drugs into the country from Mexico on its own behalf.
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