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Mexican drug war facts for kids

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Mexican drug war
Part of the war on drugs
Detenciones Michoacán.jpg
The Mexican military detaining suspects in Michoacán, 2007
Date December 11, 2006 (2006-12-11) – present
(18 years, 1 week and 6 days)
Location
Throughout Mexico, with occasional spillover across international borders into Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California, and also into the Central and South American countries of El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Guatemala
Status Ongoing
Belligerents

Mexico Mexico

  • Armed Forces
  • National Guard
    (2019–present)
  • Federal Police
    (2006–2019)
  • State and municipal police forces
  • Self-defense groups

Consulting and training support by:

  • United States United States through the Mérida Initiative
  • Colombia Colombia through the National Police of Colombia
  • Australia Australia through the Australian Federal Police
  • Canada Canada through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program (ACCBP)
  • Philippines Philippines through the National Bureau of Investigation

Guerrilla groups:

Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR)
Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN)

Mexican cartels:

  • Sinaloa Cartel
  • CJNG
  • LNFM
    • Los Viagras

Weakened and defunct cartels:

  • Gulf Cartel
    • Los Metros
  • La Familia - la vida loca 2014-05-05 16-41.jpg LFM
  • CSRL
  • Los Zetas
  • Juárez Cartel
  • Tijuana Cartel
  • Cárteles Unidos
  • La Barredora
  • La Unión Tepito
  • Milenio Cartel
    (2006–2010)
  • BLO (2006–2017)
  • CIDA (2010–2014)
  • Movimiento templario.png Knights Templar Cartel
    (2011–2017)
Commanders and leaders
  • "El Mayo" (incarcerated)
  • "El Chapo" (incarcerated)
  • "El Vicentillo" (incarcerated )
  • "El Chapito"
  • "El Ratón" (incarcerated)
  • "El Güero" (incarcerated)
  • "El Coss" (incarcerated)
  • "El Viceroy" (incarcerated)
  • "El Ingeniero" (incarcerated)
  • "La Tuta" (incarcerated)
  • "El Chango" (incarcerated)
  • "El Tío" (incarcerated)
  • "El General" (incarcerated)
  • "El Grande" (incarcerated)
  • "La Barbie" (incarcerated)
  • "La Jefa"
  • "El Teo" (incarcerated)
  • "El Ingeniero" (incarcerated)
  • "El Z-40" (incarcerated)
  • "El Z-42" (incarcerated)
  • "El L-50" (incarcerated)
  • "El Goyo" (incarcerated)
  • "El Mencho"
  • "El 85" (incarcerated)
  • "El Cuini" (incarcerated)
  • "El Menchito" (incarcerated)
  • "El Tony Montana" (incarcerated)
  • "El Marro" (incarcerated)
Strength

 Mexico

  • 368,000 police officers
  • 277,000 Soldiers
  • 107,000 National Guard members
  • 23,300 Self-defense group
  • 9,000 Guerrillas group
Cartels:
  • 100,000+ individuals
Casualties and losses
 Mexico:
  • 743 servicemen killed and 137 missing
  • 4,038 federal, state, and municipal police killed
  • 66 members of the Policía Comunitaria killed

EPR:

  • 2 EPR members killed
Cartels:
  • 12,456 cartel members killed (2006–2010)
  • 121,199 cartel members detained (2006–2009)
  • 8,500 cartel members convicted (2006–2010)
Total casualties:
  • 41,034 dead in war conflicts between identified parties from 2006–2020 (total 350,000–400,000 dead from organized crime homicides from 2006–2022)
  • 60,000+ missing (2020)

The Mexican drug war is an ongoing conflict primarily between the Mexican government and various drug trafficking organizations, commonly referred to as cartels. This war has resulted in significant violence, corruption, and social upheaval within Mexico.

The conflict began in earnest in December 2006 when President Felipe Calderón deployed military forces to combat drug-related violence. The government's main objective was to dismantle the cartels that had become powerful across the country.

The Calderón administration's strategy involved deploying thousands of troops to combat cartel violence directly. This militarized approach has been criticized for escalating violence rather than reducing it. Subsequent administrations have continued this strategy with varying degrees of success.

In December 2018, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared an end to the war on drugs; however, violence has persisted, with homicide rates remaining high. Critics argue that simply declaring an end does not address the underlying issues fueling the conflict.

Aftermath

The drug war has exacerbated corruption within law enforcement and government institutions. Many officials have been bribed or coerced by cartel influences, undermining public trust in governance.

The violence has led to widespread suffering among civilians, including displacement and loss of life. The conflict has also resulted in a significant number of missing persons in Mexico. Since the onset of the war, estimates suggest that over 431,000 people have been killed, with tens of thousands more reported missing. By 2013, estimates indicated that at least 120,000 people had died as a result of the conflict.

See also

  • Narcoculture in Mexico
  • 2011 Mexican protests
  • 2011–12 in the Mexican drug war
  • Borderland Beat
  • Mérida Initiative
  • Uppsala Conflict Data Program
  • List of ongoing armed conflicts
  • List of journalists and media workers killed in Mexico
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