Click on a territory to learn more about a cartel.
Mexican drug trafficking organisations rose to prominence following the collapse of several powerful Colombian drug cartels operating in the country in the 1990s.
The arrests of key Mexican cartel leaders in recent years have led to increased violence as the government wages a war against the drug gangs and cartels fight for control of trafficking routes into the United States.
According to the Mexican government there are seven drug cartels operating in Mexico. This map shows the areas of control of the major cartels: Gulf, Sinaloa, Juarez and Tijuana.
*Note: The regions of cartel control are fluid and are not as clearly defined as the map suggests.
Sources of data for the map include a 2007 US Congressional Research Service report and information from Strategic Forecasting, Inc.
View a larger version of this map on Google Maps, or try the Adobe Flash version at UMapper.com
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