Exploring the Double Shift of Paradigm: Drug Cartel Organizations and the Strategy in the Fight Against Drugs

Abstract: The term of terrorism has been widely discussed by several authors and security organizations previously. The overall common contribution is that a certain activity cannot be approached under the prism of terrorism unless it has a clear deliberate political motive. Certainly, the strong connection between drug crime organizations and terror groups has been argued by an extended number of national authorities from different countries. An initiative was presented before the US Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee to designate as “Terror Foreign Organizations” to a total of nine of the organized crime groups from Mexico (drug cartels), endorsing the US armed forces act against third countries where these criminal organizations have their operations. Such actions can fall under the term of “invasion” or “violation of a nation’s sovereignty rights”. This paper analyses the concept of foreign terror organization, within the framework of drug cartels including the legal aspects related to such resolution. It also explores other alternatives, such as formulations of defence and security alliances in defence and security systems or coalitions organised to face common security challenges. Finally, it examines the concept of narcoterrorism based on selected literature and presents a mapping of crimes performed by drug cartel organizations that may be classified as narcoterrorism actions. These varies from massive killing to the use of bombs during a national celebration to the launching of landmines in their two varieties: anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines, among others, to fundamentally shift the paradigm from “Transnational Organized Crime” to “narcoterrorism,” becoming “hybrid organizations”.