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International organized crime has in drug trafficking one of its most important expressions. Drug cartels have used violence as a subsidiary and unprofessionalized element. However, at the beginning of this new century, in Mexico, in the context of political changes, a new organization emerged: Los Zetas. This cartel counted, among its members, former special forces. The rise of this new organization has spread from eastern Mexico to the southern United States and northern Guatemala. The spread of this new and particular modus operandi has affected the dynamics of illicit drug trafficking in the region. The response of the Mexican state, through its security policies to deal with illicit drug trafficking, has been influenced by the emergence and empowerment of this cartel.
About the author
Security Specialist. Has worked at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in charge of the Human Security Program. He has been head of the Peruvian Observatory on Drugs and has been a speaker at the World Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna. Author of several articles on security, crime and violence.
