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Tracking Mexico's Cartels in 2018
![undefined and VP of Tactical Analysis](https://www.stratfor.com/sites/default/files/profiles/photos/Scott-Stewart.jpg)
Feb 1, 2018 | 08:00 GMT
![In the Tierra Caliente region, the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion is the most powerful criminal group.](https://worldview.stratfor.com/sites/default/files/styles/2x1_full/public/mexico%20cartel%20forecast%20display.jpg?itok=r8-3VmUt)
Many of the Mexican organizations involved in the methamphetamine and heroin trades are using their trafficking skills and connections to facilitate the fentanyl trade
(ROBERT ZAVALA/Stratfor, Sunflower/Shutterstock)
Highlights
- Factional competition resulting from the breakup of large organized crime organizations continues to drive violence in Mexico.
- The lucrative fentanyl trade, built on the backbone of methamphetamine and opiate smuggling networks, is furthering the expansion of criminal groups in Tierra Caliente.
- While most cartel violence is directed at other cartels and the government, the widespread use of military-grade weapons raises the risk of collateral damage.
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