The strategic decision by Mexican drug cartels to assassinate local government officials and politicians in the past 15 years has been surprising, to say the least. Since the 1990s cartels understood that their success depended on remaining out of the spotlight, a position from which they could co-opt government authorities by sharing the profits of the trade with them. The alternative was confrontation, which would have disturbed cartels’ operations and hindered their economic growth. Despite the negative repercussions it would … Continue reading Drug Cartels, Politics, and Violence in Mexico