FOOT SOLDIERS: Loyal cartel members

Post 5:
A drug cartel is organized much like any modern company; there are a few people at the top of the hierarchy while the majority of the members are at the bottom. In the case of the drug cartels those members at the bottom are known as foot soldiers. On March 3, 2009, The Washington Post reported that the two largest Mexican drug cartels have been able to recruit over 100,000 foot soldiers a number they compared to the Mexican Army which has 130,000 soldiers[1]. This comparison brings into perspective the major problem the authorities are facing when it comes to challenging the drug cartels. The similarity in numbers gives an explanation as to why the Mexican government is having difficulty dismantling the drug cartels.

The two drug cartels that have a combined 100,000 foot soldiers are the Gulf Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel. These two cartels are known for being rivals, something that is a benefit to the Mexican government. A merger of these two cartels would create a major force that would rival that of the Mexican Army.

The demographics of the foot soldiers are very similar to what are considered at-risk youth in the United States. Most of the foot soldiers are young, uneducated men living in poverty. The cartels have been recruiting these young men into the cartel by providing them with earnings they are not likely to receive elsewhere. Time Magazine was able to obtain a taped confession a Zeta Cartel foot soldier in which he stated that the main reason for his leaving his legitimate job as a journalist was because the cartel provided better wages.[2] The allure of the high wages is not easy for these young teens to resist, this is something the cartels know and take advantage of.

For many young men being a foot-soldier is the answer to their financial problems. According to the Washington Post article the pay these men get from being foot-soldiers is about five times the amount a legitimate minimum wage job pays. Cartel leaders know that these young men are especially loyal to the organization because the young men know that without them they would be living a life of extreme poverty. The loyalty these men have mean that they are willing to do anything and everything for the carte, this includes killing rival cartel members.

The fall of the cartels will come once the pool of recruits is drained. Young men with an alternative to this lifestyle are less inclined to risk their lives for a paycheck.


Works Cited:
[1] Carter, S. 100,000 foot soldiers in Mexican cartels. The Washington Post.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/03/100000-foot-soldiers-in-cartels//print/
[2] Grillo, I. Confessions of a Mexican narco foot-soldier. Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1868666,00.html