10 surprising and lesser-known activities of drug cartels

Although best known for their ruthless business practices in the illegal drug trade, cartels can have a surprising range of side activities and skills. Fierce and bloody competition and police crackdowns are risks that can cause drug profits to plummet, leaving cartel members to make up the shortfall or face the consequences.

To protect themselves from such dangers, many are now involved in a range of secondary activities, some of which are businesses unrelated to drugs, while others support their core activities. From selling fruit to running football clubs and radio networks, here are ten lesser-known things drug cartels are up to.

Related: 10 criminal groups founded with good intentions

10 Providing internet services

Everyone wants to get a good deal on modern necessities like an internet connection, but residents of the state of Michoacán, Mexico, got an offer they literally couldn't refuse. That's because it came from Los Viagras, the local faction of a drug cartel. Using stolen equipment, they set up so-called 'narco antennas' to provide the region with WiFi. Relying on the fearsome and violent reputation of Mexican drug gangs, the cartel coerced residents into using their services by threatening to kill them if they refused.

Although it is known that no one was killed for not signing up, it seems that people had no doubt that the cartel would remain true to its word. According to the Michoacán prosecutor's office, about 5,000 people paid the cartel between $25 and $30 a month – rates significantly above market. The lucrative business earned the cartel about $150,000 every month before their equipment was discovered and seized by police.^[1]

9 Radio network operators

The appearance of Los Viagras as an internet provider was not the first time that a cartel entered the telecom sector. Around 2006, the Gulf Cartel managed to secretly build an entire national radio network. It covered most of Mexico's 31 states and even extended into parts of Guatemala. It was maintained by specialists and used a computer system to control its radio signals so that it could transmit to specific radios. It was even harder for the authorities to hack than the mobile phone networks. It had a stronger signal deep in the countryside, where the cartels would hide.

The system was designed by a telecom expert named Jose Luis Del Toro Estrada, who later confessed to his role and the existence of the network as part of a settlement with US authorities. Its members not only enabled the cartel to communicate securely, but also used it to tap military frequencies and make threats. By 2011, the network belonged to the Zetas cartel and had become a target for the authorities. The Mexican army began conducting raids to seize the equipment.^[2]

8 Make music

Since they had their own radio network, it makes sense that the cartels would also produce music. But while their network was primarily used for communications, Gulf Cartel members reportedly did – or at least ordered – the latter. Alejandro Coronado and Mauro Vasquez, known by their stage names Cano and Blunt, found success in Mexico's “narco-ra” scene and soon began receiving special requests with lists of events they could make songs about.

Although they have been careful not to reveal who is making these requests, the pair come from a neighborhood controlled by the Gulf Cartel, and sing and rap about cartel conflicts, clashes with authorities and brutal killings. Some of their songs even use samples of machine guns and explosives. They have denied glorifying cartel violence, but with lyrics praising gang bosses and calling them “guerrilla fighters,” it's possible their music contributes to the image of drug lords as local heroes. This is something that can help attract new recruits from poor areas.^[3]

7 Running rehabilitation centers

Yes really. At least two of Mexico's top six drug cartels are known to run drug rehabilitation centers. But predictably, they don't do this to compensate for the damage they cause. Instead, the centers are a source of new recruits. Because they are vulnerable people and sometimes already in debt to cartel dealers, recovering addicts are easy prey for the cartels who can force or threaten them to sign up as smugglers or hitmen. Some cartels, such as La Familia, have even used the religious aspects of recovery programs to brainwash addicts into doing their bidding.

Sadly, some of those who visit such facilities are not even lucky enough to leave with their lives. The centers offer dealers a kind of fish-in-a-barrel opportunity to settle scores with customers who have betrayed them or failed to pay, and there have been several mass shootings.^[4]

6 Building churches

Another thing that cartels do that seems completely out of line with their other activities is building churches. But again, there is an ulterior motive at play. The churches paid for by the cartels are typically built in poor communities where public resources are scarce or non-existent. These small towns offer opportunities for the cartels. By investing money in projects that are important to the local population, the cartels can gain their favor and loyalty.

At some point in the future, this could make it easier to recruit new members, and make it less likely that locals will alert the police or military to cartel activity in the area. The strategy became so widespread that a senior bishop in Mexico made headlines in 2008 when he described the cartels as “very generous.” He did not say whether the Church used cartel money to build new places of worship or whether the cartels supported the projects in other ways.^[5]

5 Owner of football teams

The idea of ​​spending money on things that do not directly contribute to a cartel's criminal activities, but that please the local population, is not new. Even Pablo Escobar did it. In addition to building houses, schools and health clinics in poor areas of his native Colombia, he bought a stake in the Atlético Nacional football club. This led to the era of 'narco fútbol', in which Colombian drug lords invested in local football teams to hide the source of their money and get the people on their side.

With Escobar's money, Atlético Nacional was able to buy the best local players and soon win international competitions. The vast improvement in the standard of Colombian football and Nacional's performance in particular was a source of pride for a poor country concerned about its image.

However, the cartel bosses, along with their money, brought violence into the sport. Escobar had a referee killed after hearing that the referee had been bribed by a rival to make Nacional lose. And a national football hero, Andrés Escobar (no relation), was shot dead in 1994 after accidentally scoring an own goal at the World Cup.^[6]

4 Collecting art

A new law in Mexico in 2012 revealed another surprising area where cartels were very active: art collecting. Some gallery owners even reported that the Mexican art market froze after the government introduced new rules to limit the use of cash and make sellers provide information about their buyers. Some saw their sales drop by up to 30% after the law – which also applies to other business types commonly used to hide criminal proceeds, such as casinos and pawn shops – had been in place for a few years.

A Mexican cartel boss, Héctor Beltrán Leyva, even used an art dealership as a front for his drug dealing. Pablo Escobar was one of the richest men in the world during his lifetime, so it's no surprise that some of his money was in paintings. These reportedly include works by Picasso and Salvador Dali. In 2016, two Van Gogh paintings were found in a house of Italian drug lord Raffaele Imperiale.^[7]

3 Product placement

Paintings are not the only part of the arts in which cartels are active. Film is also an attractive field for them. This could be because while they cannot use conventional advertising methods such as television or billboard commercials, product placement can and has attempted to subtly encourage moviegoers to use drugs. In 2022, India's Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) reported that drug gangs in the country paid filmmakers to include scenes of drug use in major Bollywood films.

The tactic was revealed when the NCB interviewed people involved in filmmaking as part of a wider investigation into drug cartels in the film industry. One untitled hit film was said to have no drug scenes at all in the original script. However, a scene in which a main character uses drugs was added after the producers were paid a large amount of money by a cartel. The cartel then requested a second scene and was initially rejected, but they got their way by issuing threats.^[8]

2 Avocados

For some Mexican cartels, drugs have become old news. Now the battle is raging for control of a newer competitive market, one that isn't even illegal: avocados. Some were already using avocado plantations to launder money, but as the fruit's popularity grew in other countries, the sector became very lucrative. It is believed to be worth several billion dollars, which has led locals to call the popular fruit 'green gold'. Of course, the cartels have not entered the market in any legitimate way.

Some have illegally cleared protected forest areas to grow avocados, some have forced farmers to pay them protection money, and others have targeted the people who pick and transport the fruit. Trucks are often stopped and some pickers report being forced to work for free by cartel members. Competition is also no less violent than in the drug trade. As the cartels battle for regional control and a share of the market, Mexico's murder rate has risen to historically high levels.^[9]

1 Animal sacrifice

While many cartel members resort to violence to solve problems, some take a very different approach, such as enlisting the help of supernatural forces. A drug gang in Dallas, Texas paid an alleged cult leader named Daniel Vallejo to taunt a DEA agent who was investigating them. The officer's name was found on a blood-soaked altar in Vallejo's home, where he and his followers would slaughter animals and cover themselves in blood. They hoped this would bring them luck with their criminal enterprise.

Surprisingly, experts dispute that the ceremonies were attempts at witchcraft, devil worship or black magic. Occult-style rituals, including animal sacrifice, are part of several Mexican folk religions. These religions are popular with people involved in the drug trade, and they often use them to pray for their goods to arrive safely. Given that if the cargo doesn't get there, they could very well be sacrificed next. So it is easy to understand why such practices are popular.^[10]