Ruling Violently: The exercise of criminal governance by the Mexican Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG)

SAMPO,, CAROLINA; NICOLE JENNE; FERREIRA, MARCOS ALAN

Revista Científica General José María Córdova

Revista Colombiana de Estudios Militares y Estratégicos

Lugar: Bogota; Año: 2023 vol. 21 p. 647 - 665

1900-6586

This article analyzes the criminal governance exercised by the Mexican criminal organ-ization Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), contributing to the scarce information available on this topic. Specifically, we ask how the CJNG has exercised territorial control to ensure the operation of its businesses, mostly concentrated in the production and sale of illegal drugs. Based on a small number of existing studies and publicly available information, we argue that the CJNG relies on a dual system of territorial control consisting of the prioritization of violent coercion vis-à-vis its opponents together with a discourse of protecting Mexicans sustained by selected initiatives to provide security and other basic services to the population to gain legitimacy. This combination has allowed the cartel to grow and expand rapidly over the last decade.