convergence

Deville
often executed, which was the case in August 2010 when 72 migrants were allegedly killed by
armed gangs in Tamaulipas. 46
In addition to using human smuggling in support of their drug-trafficking operations,
cartels have launched separate human-trafficking and prostitution enterprises to diversify their
business and create additional profit lines. In July 2011, a U.S. Government official pointed
to this shift in the cartels’ original business model, noting, “They realize [human trafficking]
is a lucrative way to generate revenue, and it is low-risk.” 47 With government efforts still
largely focused on drug trafficking, human-trafficking convictions in Mexico remain rare. 48
The diversification of cartel activities in Mexico reveals just how extensive their influence and
power have become. Their drug-trafficking activities, which still fund the majority of their
operations, are so well protected that they can expand into other illicit activities without fear
of state interference.
Both violence and corruption have obvious impact on governance and the stability of a
state. Regardless of how they choose to protect their activities, illicit networks are clearly undermining
government authority across Mexico. One result is the growing exodus of Mexicans
from their country to escape the increasing drug-related violence. Since 2006, an estimated
125,000 middle- and upper-class Mexicans have fled their country for the United States. 49
Collateral Costs
The damage inflicted by illicit networks can extend far beyond the borders of the state in which
their main operations or headquarters are located. Although the damage may be greatest in the
home state, in the age of globalization, no state is immune from criminal networks no matter
where they are located. The convergence of criminal organizations to form illicit networks is
a threat not only to political and economic stability in individual states, but also to stability
across the globe.
While the most dramatic impacts of illicit network supply chains and operations in
Mexico are felt in Mexico itself, their impacts are increasingly being felt in other states of
the region, including the United States. In addition to targeting Mexican agents and police
officials, illicit networks are often working to corrupt, and more frequently targeting, U.S. law
enforcement agents at the border. At a Senate subcommittee hearing in June 2011, a CBP
official testified that 127 U.S. customs agents had been indicted for crimes including cocaine
trafficking and money laundering since 2004. 50 In 2009, U.S. Customs Agent Luis Alarid was
sentenced to prison after it was discovered that he had accepted over $200,000 in cash along
with vehicles and electronics from cartel members in exchange for allowing vehicles carrying
drugs to cross the border. 51
In addition to corrupting customs agents, Mexico’s illicit networks have used violence
against U.S. law enforcement officials and citizens to protect their activities from U.S. intervention,
although so far not as much—at least not yet—as many fear. The number of U.S.
law enforcement and citizen deaths and disappearances related to Mexico’s drug trafficking
has increased in the past 5 years. According to State Department figures, “at least 106 U.S.
residents were victims of ‘executions’ or ‘homicides’ directly related to drug battles in Mexico
in 2010, compared to 79 in 2009 and 35 in 2007.” 52 U.S. border towns have seen a sharp
70