Challenges Posed by Drug Cartels and Construction Mafias: Mexico, Colombia, and South Africa

In Mexico, cartel turf wars have led residents of many towns to turn to “local police” composed of relatively untrained members who work as volunteers or receive little pay. Both traditional Mexican police forces and those composed of indigenous people have come under increasing attack by drug cartels. Fighting has taken place in the states of Michoacán and Chiapas, with the latter falling under the control of warring drug gangs, leading some residents to flee to neighboring Guatemala.

In Colombia, a government initiative—the 2017 National Illicit Crop Substitution Program (PNIS)—aimed at helping communities transition away from coca cultivation has stalled. The program, resulting from a peace treaty between the FARC and the government, was meant to curb drug trafficking in the country. It offers jobs and tools to more than 60,000 former coca plantation owners and workers to move to other sources of income, but the state cannot ensure the sale of agricultural products, repair roads or ensure the safety and education of its citizens.

The South African government intends to crack down on “construction mafias” that use new investments to earn money from infrastructure works. These “mafias” pretend to be local business organizations and lobby for hiring local contractors for new construction projects. Interested gangsters have already infiltrated some of the South African authorities. They earn money from the revenues of public investments and delay key infrastructure projects.