Knowra Mexican drug war Mexican drug war An ongoing armed conflict involving the Mexican government, drug trafficking organizations, and other groups, intensified by a 2006 military campaign against cartels.
Felipe Calderón : Mexican president from 2006 to 2012 who launched a major federal military campaign against drug cartels. His government made the 2006 deployment of federal forces a defining escalation.
Drug trafficking organization : A criminal group that transports and distributes illegal drugs through organized networks. These organizations are central armed actors, though their activities extend beyond the conflict.
Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán : A Mexican drug trafficker who led the Sinaloa Cartel and was convicted in the United States in 2019. His rise, arrests, and escape shaped public accounts of the cartel era.
Forced disappearance in Mexico : The abduction or disappearance of people in Mexico, often involving suspected state or criminal-group participation. Disappearances have become a defining and unresolved human-rights crisis.
Colombian conflict : A decades-long armed conflict in Colombia involving the state, guerrilla groups, paramilitaries, and criminal organizations. It offers a regional comparison, but differs in its actors, history, and peace process.
Mexican Drug War (2006–2012) : The first six years of Mexico’s intensified federal campaign against drug trafficking organizations and the resulting violence. This period established the military-led approach associated with the conflict’s escalation.
Cartel fragmentation : The division of a criminal organization into smaller factions with separate leadership or territories. Leadership removals and internal disputes have repeatedly produced new armed groups.
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes : A Mexican drug trafficker known as "El Mencho" and identified by authorities as a leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. His organization became one of the most powerful armed groups in the conflict.
Mass graves in Mexico : Burial sites containing multiple bodies, discovered in different regions of Mexico amid widespread violence. Their discovery reveals the scale of killings and the burden on forensic institutions.
War on drugs : A broad term for government campaigns to suppress illegal drug production, trafficking, and use. Mexico’s conflict is one national case within this wider policy framework.
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