Ethan Baruh

Nikki Gulck
Humanities
28 October 2016
Analysis Of Drug Trafficking Organizations: Tactics and Methods

Nowadays almost every single person has heard of El Chapo. He occupies the news with
prison escapes that seem like they belong in movies. However most people's conceptions of El
Chapo, and in turn drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) or cartels, is widely misinformed.
Cartels are often much more violent and clever than most people think. By looking at multiple
reports of smuggling tactics of cartels and in depth analysis of cartel operations, we can see that
cartels are actually extremely smart, multibillion dollar organizations that should be a main focus
of the government, which shows that the war on drugs is not working and a new approach must
be taken.
Cartel operation is a widely misinformed topic among the general public. Most people
might assume that Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) are operated by ten men in a jungle
that are making drugs then taping them to their bodies and attempting to cross the border. This
could not be farther from the truth. DTOs are actually extremely similar to widely known
franchises such as Wal-Mart or McDonalds. Some might argue that the only differences between
these two organizations are that one abides by the law and the other does not. And even then
companies like McDonalds dont always obey the law.
One similarity is that both DTOs and large businesses both maintain exclusive
relationships between their suppliers. For DTOs, this might be the farmer in Colombia that is
growing coca plants, and for a company like Wal-Mart, this might be the maker of toys they sell.

This exclusive relationship allows the DTO to keep the price of cocaine and other narcotics
stable even when there is not a large income of crops. This is very similar to what economists
call a monopsony- a structure where a buyer interacts and keeps a stable relationship with many
would be sellers, which many economists say Wal-Mart has. (Monopsony) (Narconomics).
Another relationship between DTOs and legal organizations is the way that they manage
themselves throughout large areas. In a business, companies often invest in smaller companies
on the promise that those smaller companies are allowed to use the larger companies brand. In
return, the larger company will get some of the smaller companies income. In relation, a DTO
will often go to a local crime group or just individuals that do the drug dealing or other crime in a
small town or city and say that the group can use the DTOs brand and say that they are part of
the DTO as long as the cartel gets a portion of money that is made by the smaller group. In
return the DTO will may give the group hats with their logo, t-shirts with their logo, and
sometimes weapons even.
As in the legal market this has both advantages and disadvantages. An advantage might
be that the DTO can grow much more quickly than they normally would, although these methods
often create large amounts of conflict between the smaller branches. This is generally because
the smaller groups motives and interests are usually not aligned with the larger DTOs. During
an interview with NPR, Carlos Mojica Lechuga, the leader of Barrio Dieciocho or Barrio 18, one
of two large street gangs in El Salvador, complained about, managing his staff and his image
in the international media. Tom Wainwright, the interviewer said, it was really strangely
reminiscent of speaking to a kind of frustrated mid level manager. (Narconomics). This
further proves the similarities in relationships between dealers and suppliers.

With all of this power and control comes the issue of maintaining control over all of their
land. For a legitimate business, this is generally a lot easier than in the business of drugs,
weapons, and people smuggling. So what is the best method of maintaining control? Well, fear
obviously. And this is where DTOs can get very frightening. In a study done by the University
of South Florida that compared DTOs to terrorist groups they saw a number of similarities in
tactics used.
The definition of the term, terrorism is not exactly the same between agencies in the
US government but a general consensus is: terrorism is the calculated use of unlawful violence
or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear, intended to coerce or to intimidate governments
or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.
(Longmire, Sylvia M., and John P. Longmire). This is semi similar to what DTOs do to coerce
governments and other crime groups to bend to their will. Some activities that DTOs participate
in that are mainly seen as acts of terrorism include executions, assassination, and more.
An example of this was an assassination that occurred on August 21, 2008. The bodies
of three men presumed to be federal agents were discovered in a vehicle along a highway in the
State of Mexico. Each had been shot once in the forehead. The same day, a police commander in
Pabellon de Arteaga, Aguascalientes, died after being shot approximately thirty times.
(Longmire, Sylvia M., and John P. Longmire).
This is just one example of an assassin by a DTO. Another common activity is
executions which is something that the Los Zetas cartel is known for. This example of an
execution occurred on July 7, 2008. Mexican police found the bodies of six men. They had been
tortured and then shot to death. After the killers had attempted to burn the victims bodies. The

day before that there were six other executions in Tijuana alone. This is just the tip of the
iceberg of terrorist style activities that DTOs partake in.
Smuggling is what DTOs are primarily known for. Trafficking drugs, weapons and even
people across the border. Most people though dont realize just how much work and creativity is
actually put into smuggling narcotics. Evading border patrol of one of the most powerful
countries in the world is no small task unlike some people might think. Gone are the days of
Pablo Escobar flying cocaine into the US without any worry or some random man putting thirty
pounds of marijuana on his back and walking into the US. These days the smugglers have to be
incredibly creative and unfortunately that is what DTOs excel at.
A common tactic that DTOs use is something called a SPSS or a self-propelled semisubmersible. This is a small submersible that is made out of marine grade plywood and
fiberglass with commercial engines. The thing with these vehicles though, is that they are
extremely unstable and dangerous. During a raid on a SPSS by the US Coast Guard of the
total amount of cocaine onboard (8,000 kilograms, or $1,352,000,000 worth of drugs) (Phillip
Smith). was taken from the submersible. Then while they were towing it back to shore the craft
sank. And this is all besides the incredible danger for the crew. (News).
The total space allocated to the crew on the submersible is around the size of a bed. And
that space is for four people. Besides that there are no toilets or kitchen areas, for a journey that
can go all the way from Tijuana to Los Angeles. And if the boat sank or started capsizing there
would be almost no hope of survival for the crew. Additionally there is the risk of getting caught
by the coast guard and getting prosecuted.
Another popular way of smuggling among DTOs is tunnels. Last month we interdicted
a tunnel in San Diego and seized more than 10 tonnes of marijuana. Compare that to sending

four guys across with 30 pounds of marijuana on their backs, who have to navigate the
mountains, evade Border Patrols and arrange delivery, and you can see the difference in profit.
(News). The tunnel being spoken of was about 600 meters long and 40 feet deep. We've seen
a variety of clever attempts to disguise entrances, everything from pool tables, electric panels,
hydraulic bathtubs, elevators. We saw an exit point in the US where each time they came through
the opening, they filled it with concrete, painted it and re-carpeted it. That's attention to detail.
(News).
In the news, sometimes you may hear about a young adult or child getting caught with
cocaine on his/her person, trying to cross the border. This kind of activity is not as uncommon as
you may think though. Most people under 18 wouldnt hesitate if someone offered a few
hundred to a few thousand dollars for them to just drive across the border or pick up some people
in the middle of nowhere.
This was the case with 16 year old Cruz Marcelino Velazquez Acevedo who died while
trying to smuggle a juice bottle and a 1.5 liter water bottle filled with apple juice. While
attempting to cross the border a officer suspicious of the bottle took it and poured some of it out.
If it was methamphetamine than it would have evaporated and leave behind small crystals.
When he poured it out though it did not crystallize and Acevedo was sent to secondary
inspection.
He was again asked about the liquid and to prove it wasnt any type of drug he drank
some. An hour later he was dead and the official cause of death was acute methamphetamine
intoxication. His apple juice was 90 percent meth. Like I mentioned before this activity is not
all that uncommon. From 2008 through 2013, 978 minors were caught by the CBP (Customs
and Border Protection) and charged with drug trafficking. (McIntyre).

It is not uncommon for high school students and other young people to cross the border to
visit family, party or any other activity. Border patrol agents say that kids usually are approached
in their neighborhoods or other popular places among young people and recruited. The age
doesnt matter very much to smugglers as drug mules younger than 14 years old have been
caught at the border.
One way that DTOs or independent smugglers often convince minors to smuggle is the
promise of money and the fact that if they get caught, they wont be face that serious of
consequences. This is both true and untrue. By and large, there is a huge gap in sentencing for
juveniles and adults, said San Diego criminal defense lawyer Jeremy Warren. Juvenile
sentencing is considered treatment and rehabilitation, and the punishments are generally much
shorter, from probation to a few months in jail, at least in California. (McIntyre). Adults, in the
same situation, could face years in prison. It seems weird but for the same crime, for example
driving across the border with some cocaine, a high school student under 18 might get a sentence
of time served in juvenile court after a few weeks, whereas a adult would most likely get three
years in prison.
By looking at multiple reports of smuggling tactics of cartels and in depth analysis of
cartel operations, we can see that cartels are actually extremely smart, multibillion dollar
organizations that should be a main focus of the government, which shows that the war on drugs
is not working and a new approach must be taken.
In summary anyone could conclude that DTOs are widely underestimated by the general
public and that needs to change. One approach that has been recommended to stop DTOs is to
instead of trying to cut off supply, cut off demand. If the general public was more educated
about what these cartels and DTOs do, then they might be more hesitant to purchase drugs from

them. For a comparison if you knew that most of the people who worked at Nike were murders
would you still buy their shoes. Granted that the consumers of Nike and the consumers of DTO
products are very different although the same concept still applies.
If the demand was cut off their would be no more opportunity for money and the DTOs
would lose billions of dollars in product and cut most of their funding. They would no longer
have the money to buy state of the art weapons and equipment. This would allow for harder and
more complex strikes on DTO leaders and high ups by the military.
Although this is a solution it would be almost impossible to stop all demand of drugs
from the US, although again there is a solution for this too. Multiple countries have decided to
decriminalise all drug use and unlike what most people would think, this has had a very positive
effect. When most of these countries decriminalised drugs they created their own legal markets
for drugs. This has resulted in some very positive outcomes, such as massive reductions in
drug-related deaths and tumbling rates of HIV and hepatitis infections. (Branson). This shows
that a solution is within reach, we just need to push for it and put in the work.

Work Cited

Branson, Richard. Ending the War on Drugs. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
By Phillip Smith / AlterNet. "The World's Highest (and Lowest) Cocaine Prices." Alternet. N.p.,
n.d.
Web. 07 Oct. 2016.
"Monopsony." Economics Help. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.
"'Narconomics': How The Drug Cartels Operate Like Wal-Mart And McDonald's." NPR. NPR,
n.d.
Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
Longmire, Sylvia M., and John P. Longmire. "Redefining Terrorism: Why Mexican Drug
Trafficking Is
More than Just Organized Crime." University of South Florida. University of South
Florida,
Nov. 2008. Web.
McIntyre, Erin Siegal. "Teenage Drug Mules: Cartels Are Tapping Minors to Smuggle Meth,
Coke."
Aljazeera America. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2016.
News, BBC. "How Do Cartels Get Drugs into the US?" BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2016.