Drug cartels are criminal organizations developed with the primary purpose of promoting and controlling drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely-managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. Drug cartels are not strictly cartels proper.

Drug cartels operate in many countries throughout Latin America, including Mexico, Brazil, Central America and Colombia, and in Afghanistan and South Asia. Some cartels are even establishing themselves in U.S. cities like New York, Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Diego.

Significant cartels in Mexico

• Gulf Cartel - based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas
• Juárez Cartel (Carrillo-Fuentes Cartel) - based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua
• Sinaloa Cartel - based in Culiacan, Sinaloa
• Sonora Cartel (Caro-Quintero Cartel) - based in Hermosillo, Sonora
• Tijuana Cartel (Arellano-Felix Cartel) - based in Tijuana, Baja California
• La Familia Michoacana - based in Morelia, Michoacan
• Beltrán-Leyva Cartel - based in Sinaloa
• Los Zetas

Colombia

Colombian drug cartels or just Colombian cartels is a generic term that usually refers to three, usually rival, criminal organizations involved in narcotrafficking in Colombia:

• Cali Cartel
• Medellín Cartel
• Norte del Valle Cartel

It sometimes also refers to other, lesser-known criminal organizations:

• North Coast Cartel
• Bogotá Cartel
• Santander de Quilichao Cartel

Other organizations in Colombia involved in drug trafficking include:

• The Black Eagles
• AUC
• ELN
• FARC

References

• PBS. 2006. Frontline: Drug Wars.
• Worldpress.org. 2006. "Mexico: Drug Cartels a Growing Threat." Worldpress.org.