RUSI Journal, Jun 2013, Vol. 158, No. 3 By Eduardo Guerrero

Mexico was battling notoriously high levels of organised-crime-related violence for years. The method adopted by the Calderón administration trusted largescale joint operations with strong military components to fight the cartels in a carteldecapitation strategy. The quick-term success of this approach was however countered by its long-term consequences, which increased cartel fragmentation and related violence. Eduardo Guerrero analyses the landscape of Mexican organised crime in 2012, its new models of organisation and recruitment strategies and suggests the fundamental challenges facing the new Peña Nieto administration if it is to devise a security strategy that can succeed in the long-term.

Download this publication

Further Analysis: , ,