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Organized Crime 101

Why Killing Mexico's Top Drug Lord May Not Be Good News
Three factors determine whether taking down a cartel boss reduces violence or causes it to explode.
Why Is Fear Rising if Mexico's Murder Rate Is Falling?
Crime data shows improvement, yet millions feel less safe. The contradiction is reshaping Mexico’s politics.
Why Fentanyl Kills in the United States but Not in Mexico
What Mexico’s near-zero overdose rates reveal about the real causes of America’s opioid epidemic
Trump Doesn't Want to Solve the Drug Problem
Narcotrafficking as leverage in the U.S.–Mexico relationship
Mexico's 25-Year War Against Cartels Explained
A deep look at how security policies have evolved — and what Mexico has learned in the process.
How Mexico Sweeps Murders Under The Rug
A quiet bureaucratic trick is reshaping the country’s homicide data
How Drug Cartels Recruit Their Members
Hollywood tells us people join drug cartels for money, power, and glamour. What’s really happening is far more chilling.
 • Viri Rios
44:02
What 20+ Years of Research Reveal About Mexico's Organized Crime
In this episode of the Mexico Decoded podcast, I speak with Omar García Ponce, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at…
 • Viri Rios and Omar García-Ponce
51:15
What We Get Wrong About Mexico’s Cartels
In this episode of the Mexico Decoded podcast, I speak with Ioan Grillo, one of the world’s leading journalists on Mexico’s drug war, to examine the…
 • Viri Rios and Ioan Grillo
56:56
Can the U.S. Just Bomb Away Mexico’s Drug Cartels?
Trump says the military could take on cartels. The fallout might be far greater than anyone expects.
A Death Squad That Kept a Mexican State Safe—Until It Didn't
What a Mexican state’s “success” against crime reveals about the dangerous bargains behind public peace.
Is Mexico a Narco-State?
What we miss when we talk about Mexico and the cartels
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