Map of Cartel Areas of Operation in Mexico
The Mechanics of a Drug Lord's Power
Drug lords often have de facto control over the governments of the locations they operate in through bribery, corruption, obstruction of justice, intimidation, contract killings, and narco-terrorism. They may also control or influence civilian populations through violence, and/or by winning hearts and minds.
This phenomenon takes place in developing countries with weak and/or corrupt governments, where impunity is present or rife, and rule of law is missing or lacking. Drug lords can benefit from political corruption and patronage, by contributing donations to political candidates, and/or by colluding with political candidates to rig elections in their favor, through vote buying and/or voter intimidation, in exchange for political favors.
After such candidates are elected, they use their power to reward the drug lords who supported them. The rewards might include impunity, import/export licenses, and/or favorable decisions, such as banning extradition, softening laws against drug-trafficking, etc.
While in office, the aforementioned politicians, may make corrupt appointments as quid pro quos. For example, a corrupt governor appoints a new police chief in a state police force, whom a drug lord can bribe, as a quid pro quo for helping him win a gubernatorial election.
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In some cases, corrupt politicians in office, who lack any previous ties to the drug lords, may also solicit or accept bribes from them. Drug lords also take advantage of police corruption, judicial corruption, prosecutorial corruption, and military corruption, through bribery, especially if the drug lords already possess a certain level of impunity, granted by corrupt politicians.
They can influence legal proceedings, obstruct investigations, and avoid facing charges or indictments for their crimes, through bribing prosecutors. Drug lords can bribe judges and jurors to influence court decisions, secure favorable rulings, and avoid conviction or receive lenient sentences for their offenses.
Corrupt police officers can turn a blind eye towards the criminal activities of the drug lords and leak confidential information to them about police operations in exchange for bribes. It is crucial for drug lords to gain access to confidential information about police operations, so they are able to: know when and where the police carry out patrols; identify witnesses, informants, and undercover police; detect the presence of wiretaps, bugs, and other forms of police surveillance; receive advance notice of criminal investigations, police raids, sting operations.
The Rise and Fall of Notorious Drug Lords
Drug lords have begun breaking the large cartels into much smaller organizations. In so doing, they decreased the number of people involved and shrank their role as targets-most likely in an attempt to avoid the fate of their predecessors. With newer technology, drug lords are able to manage their operations more effectively from behind the scenes, keeping themselves out of the spotlight and off the FBI and DEA wanted lists.
Pablo Escobar: The King of Cocaine
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (December 1, 1949 - December 2, 1993) was a Colombian drug overlord. Often referred to as the "World's Greatest Outlaw", Escobar was perhaps the most elusive cocaine trafficker to have ever existed. He is considered the 'King of Cocaine' and is known as the lord of all drug lords.
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In 1989, Forbes magazine declared Escobar as the seventh-richest man in the world, with an estimated personal fortune of US$30 billion. In 1986, he attempted to enter Colombian politics. Pablo was known as Paisa Robin Hood, for his contributions to the poor, but was also known for murdering anyone who got in his way.
His carrot-and-stick strategy of bribing public officials in the Colombian government, and sending hitmen to murder the ones who rejected his bribes, came to be known as "silver or lead" or "money or bullets". When the Colombian government launched a manhunt for Escobar, it needed assistance from the DEA, the CIA, the Cali Cartel, and Los Pepes.
Pablo Escobar
Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera
He was called El Señor de Los Cielos ("The Lord of the Skies") for his use of over 22 private 727 jet airliners to transport Colombian cocaine to municipal airports and dirt airstrips around Mexico, including Juárez. He was a member of the Guadalajara Cartel and worked for Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo. After Félix's arrest in 1989, Guzmán formed the Sinaloa Cartel along with Ismael Zambada García and Héctor Luis Palma Salazar.
He is well known for his use of sophisticated tunnels-similar to the one located in Douglas, Arizona-to smuggle cocaine from Mexico into the United States in the early 1990s. In 1993, a 7.3-ton shipment of his cocaine, concealed in cans of chili peppers and destined for the United States, was seized in Tecate, Baja California. That same year he barely escaped an ambush by the Tijuana Cartel led by Ramon Arellano Felix and his gunmen.
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After being captured in Guatemala, he was jailed in 1993 and in 1995 he was moved to the maximum-security prison called Puente Grande, but paid his way out of prison and hid in a laundry van as it drove through the gates. He is considered a folk hero in the narcotics world, celebrated by musicians who write and perform narcocorridos (drug ballads) extolling his exploits.
In July 2015, Guzman escaped a second time from a maximum-security prison through a hole in a shower floor that led to a mile-long tunnel, ending at a nearby house. A large-scale manhunt ensued.
El Chapo Guzmán
John Harun Mwau: The Kenyan Connection
Politician and businessman, John Harun Mwau, was born in Kenya in 1948 to a humble family. But by the 1990s, he was a rich man. Two decades later, he is richer still. Mwau’s vast wealth is not from honest hard work. Mwau began his career as a sharpshooter in the Kenyan police in his 20s. He joined the Kenyan parliament in the Kilome province in 1992 under his own brand new political party: PICK (Party of Independent Candidates of Kenya).
Mwau ran also for the Kenyan presidency in 1992. He lost. But then president, Daniel Arap Moi, offered him the role of head of the newly-created Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority. After keeping a low profile for several years, he emerged again as a major importer of electronic goods from the Middle East and Europe.
In December that year, Kenyan authorities seized in Nairobi, Mombasa and Malindi an astonishing 1,21 tonnes of cocaine. The African Business magazine suggests the cargo came from Venezuela and Colombia, and was destined for Ireland and the Netherlands. It was the largest drug haul ever in Kenya’s history.
The company has a warehouse located at the Athi River in the outskirts of Nairobi, where it is suspected that part of the narcotics shipment found its way there. The report named Mwau as a violent drug dealer involved in money laundering and contract killings.
“Mombasa port is like a tunnel. All illicit business happens here and it is controlled by traders supported by customs personnel and powerful people in government. assets in which Mwau held more than 50% shares were frozen.
In January 2014, the National Authority for Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Kenya (NACADA), invited by John Harun Mwau to say whether they had any evidence linking him with the drug trade, cleared the former politician of any involvement in drug trafficking.
The Akasha Family: A Dynasty of Drug Trafficking
Sitting on the throne of drug barons in Kenya is the Akasha family. The world came to know their name when the forefather of the family Ibrahim Akasha brought to court in 1996, charged on drug trafficking. Ibrahim Akasha is a Swiss-based billionaire, the value of whose estate was estimated at USD 100 million, and who owns property in Amsterdam, the Middle East and Asia.
Following Ibrahim’s reign, in 1998 it was his brother’s turn: the allegation was for a heroin possession worth USD 140.000. In his absentia, Ibrahim Akasha hired a Yugoslavian conduit to ship his consignment to Europe. This new agent was linked up to an international syndicate based in Amsterdam: at the top of the Dutch gang was Sam Klepper, a notorious drug trafficker born in the Netherlands.
For a couple of years the new collaboration between the Dutch and the Kenyan gangs ran smoothly. Sam Klepper had it in 2000, while Ibrahim Akasha was shot dead while walking hand-in-hand with his wife in Bloedstraat [Blood Street], Amsterdam.
Since the ‘90s, drug dealing has always been a trademark for Akashas. According to Kenyan intelligence, The Netherlands was the final destination of the huge haul of 1,2 tons of cocaine cargo seized in 2004.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency „had spent years infiltrating Akasha and alleges that the gang is part of a heroin supply chain that stretches from the poppy fields of Afghanistan through east Africa to the cities of Europe and the United States.
Ibrahim Ben Ibrahim: The Malian's Rise in the Desert
The Malian was born in 1976 in Kidal, Mali, to a Moroccan mother from Oujda and a Malian father, and his real birth date remains a mystery. His life took an unexpected turn when he encountered a lost Frenchman in the desert. The Malian sold the car following the advice of the Frenchman, but instead of keeping the money from selling the car, Ben Ibrahim sent it to the Frenchman.
Transitioning from the car trade to gold, the Malian gradually built a network across the Sahel and the desert, hotspots for organized crime. This allowed him to gain an in-depth understanding of the region, including its tribes, dialects in Azawad communities, and the mapping of the Sahel and desert. Ben Ibrahim further elevated his operations by transporting cocaine from Latin America to West Africa.
The Malian was involved in various businesses and factories. The drug lord had reportedly intended to charm celebrities like Catherine Deneuve, Angelina Jolie, and an unnamed Moroccan singer.
Upon his return to Morocco, he was arrested at Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca in 2019 by the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), despite receiving assurances from his partners that he is not wanted in Morocco.
Other Notorious Figures
Here's a brief overview of other notorious drug lords and their operations:
- Osiel Cárdenas Guillén: Former leader of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, known for his ruthless tactics.
- Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho ("Marcola"): Leader of Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a powerful Brazilian criminal organization.
- Griselda Blanco: Known as the "Godmother of Cocaine," operated between Miami and Colombia.
- Rick Ross ("Freeway"): A major drug dealer in Los Angeles during the 1980s, linked to the CIA through the Iran-Contra affair.
- Ramón Arellano Félix: Founding member of the Tijuana drug cartel, known for his ruthlessness.
- Marcos Arturo Beltrán Leyva: Leader of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, involved in various drug production and trafficking activities.
- Frank Lucas: Heroin dealer and organized crime boss in Harlem, known for cutting out middlemen.
- Zhenli Ye Gon: Mexican businessman of Chinese origin, accused of trafficking pseudoephedrine.
- Christopher Coke ("Dudus"): Jamaican drug lord and leader of the Shower Posse gang.
- Christy Kinahan: Irish drug lord and head of the Kinahan Cartel, involved in drug and arms smuggling.
- Juan Raul Garza: Operated a marijuana trafficking ring in Texas, Louisiana, Michigan, and Mexico.
- Shaheed "Roger" Khan: Guyanese drug lord known for money-laundering and cocaine distribution.
THE LIFE OF PABLO: How The DEA Caught Pablo Escobar & The Medellin Cartel | Our History
Key Figures and Their Downfalls
Here is a summary of some key figures and their eventual downfalls:
| Drug Lord | Country of Operation | Downfall |
|---|---|---|
| Frank Lucas | USA | Arrested in 1975 after a raid found over half a million dollars in cash at his house. Sentenced to 70 years in prison. |
| Christopher Coke ("Dudus") | Jamaica | Detained at a roadblock while dressed as a woman, then handed himself over to the police. |
| Griselda Blanco | USA | Imprisoned for 20 years due to her violent methods and numerous assassination attempts by rivals. Later shot dead in an assassination. |
| Rick Ross ("Freeway") | USA | Set up by his partner to sell 100 kilos of cocaine to an undercover DEA agent, resulting in a life imprisonment sentence. |
| Arturo Beltrán Leyva | Mexico | Killed by Mexican Navy intelligence after a 90-minute shoot-out following an attempted assassination at his Christmas party. |
| Felix Mitchell ("The Cat") | USA | Stabbed and killed less than two years into serving his sentence. |
| Khun Sa ("The Opium King") | Burma | Surrendered to the Burmese government and lived a life of luxury until his natural death after they refused to extradite him. |
| Amado Carrillo Fuentes ("Lord of the Skies") | Mexico | Accidentally killed by plastic surgeons in 1997 while undergoing major medical alterations to his appearance. |
| Pablo Escobar | Colombia | Shot dead by the Columbian National Police in 1993 while attempting to escape across rooftops. |
| Joaquín Guzmán Loera ("El Chapo Guzmán") | Mexico | Still alive and operating, though he has faced multiple captures and escapes. |
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