Seven major drug cartels in Mexico are now controlling and fiercely competing for the lucrative tobacco and vape smuggling market, generating estimated annual profits of between 15 and 20 billion pesos. This alarming finding comes from the report "Smoke, Vaping and Power" ("Humo, vapeo y poder") by the civil organization Defensorxs.
The report details how powerful groups such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Sinaloa Cartel, and La Nueva Familia Michoacana have established sophisticated networks encompassing illegal manufacturing, clandestine importation, cargo theft, distribution, retail sales, and extortion. "Tobacco smuggling has ceased to be a minor business to become a criminal industry managed by 7 of the most powerful cartels in the country," the report states.
Each cartel utilizes this illicit trade strategically. The CJNG is reportedly incorporating technology to maximize profits, while the Sinaloa Cartel uses it to expand its reach beyond Mexico. La Nueva Familia Michoacana leverages tobacco smuggling to consolidate social control alongside its extortion of mining and agriculture sectors. Other groups like the Gulf Cartel, Northeast Cartel, United Cartels, and La Unión Tepito (collaborating with Chinese mafias) use these revenues for structural reconfiguration, parallel state funding, or as a substitute for other narcotics exports.
