History Main / TheCartel

* ''Film/{{Sicario}}'' is about an FBIAgent tagging along on a CIA operation to dismantle a Mexican cartel. She later discovers that [[spoiler:the mysterious Alejandro is actually working for the new Medellin cartel, which is backed by the US to stabilize the drug trade]].

* Far more common in Venezuela than Mexico. To the point where some have argued the recent [[RidiculousFutureInflation hyper inflation]] may have actually been a net ''benefit'' (for everyday people, that is), since worthless currency means kidnapping and drug sales are a barter market at ''best'', but most likely some form of "not viable"; some criminals caught in neighboring/nearby countries have confessed they migrated because there was ''nothing to steal'' back home. Being next door to Colombia had a lot to do with it. The Chavez and Maduro regimes being self serving and accepting bribes to compensate for falling oil prices had a lot more to do with it.

The Mafia...[[RecycledInSpace BUT HISPANIC!]] In the underworld, there are several factions, [[MetroSpecificUnderworld usually based on location and ethnicity]]. The cartel is an umbrella term for many mafia-like groups based in Latin America. In real life, these cartels are behind trafficking cocaine, and occasionally arming and supporting various armed groups, [[WarForFunAndProfit both]] [[LaResistance revolutionaries]] and [[BlackShirt counter-revolutionaries]]. Cocaine supplied to the US is refined to Crack and sold by GangBangers. Sometimes they will even engage in HumanTrafficking especially when they are the ones smuggling people into the United States.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', the Latin-American ORO Corporation was at first a money laundering front for several cartels. However, after getting a few mining contracts that turned out to be way more valuable than anyone thought, the company outgrew its origins, reimagening itself as the MegaCorp Aztechnology.

The cartel was a popular villain in fiction during the 80's and the 90's, when the drug trade made the headlines big time. With all the recent news about the Mexican cartels' graphic executions (mostly the Zetas), expect to see these guys as popular antagonists in the near future.

* ''Film/ClearAndPresentDanger'', with Ernesto Escobedo.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' features a fictionalized version of the Juarez cartel from Mexico, who act as the main antagonists for the first three seasons of the former show (and also play a significant role in the latter show). The New Mexico branch is initially headed by Tuco Salamanca; his cousins Leonel and Marco are [[ProfessionalKillers highly lethal enforcers]] for the main operation; all three were raised by their uncle, Hector, [[TheDragon the longtime right-hand man]] (until [[RetiredMonster a stroke rendered him mute and paralyzed]]) of the head of the cartel, [[GreaterScopeVillain Don]] [[FauxAffablyEvil Eladio]]. Unlike most other fictional drug cartels, their primary business is crystal meth (at least in the series context; it's mentioned they deal in cocaine and heroin offscreen as well). Their relationship with Gus Fring (and therefore Walter White) is... complicated. In ''Breaking Bad'', they aren't as prominent in the plot as other antagonists, especially later on, but it's repeatedly noted that they have by far the most resources of any criminal group featured in the show. While they're still around in Season 4 of the show, [[spoiler:Gus ends up supplanting them as a threat by fatally poisoning most of their leadership, which combined with a successful DEA crackdown, cripples their operations in New Mexico]]. ''Better Call Saul'' gives them much more focus, with the other half of the show's plotline and tritagonist Ignacio "Nacho" Vargas allowing the audience to view more of the organization's inner workings.

The Mafia...[[RecycledInSpace BUT HISPANIC!]] In the underworld, there are several factions, [[MetroSpecificUnderworld usually based on location and ethnicity]]. The cartel is an umbrella term for many mafia-like groups based in Latin America. In real life, these cartels are behind trafficking cocaine, and occasionally arming and supporting various armed groups, [[WarForFunAndProfit both]] [[LaResistance revolutionaries]] and [[BlackShirt counter-revolutionaries]]. Cocaine supplied to the US is refined to Crack and sold by GangBangers.

* [[Film/TheProfessional The Professional's]] first major job is taking out a cartel leader.

* In ''Film/ActOfValor'', the terrorist BigBad is being aided by a Ukrainian crime lord who controls a drug-running cartel stretching from Central America to Mexico. The SEAL team first has to rescue a CIA agent being tortured by the cartel in Central America before tracking their operations across the globe and raiding the Ukranian leader's boat. The final battle is between the combined US Navy SEAL[=/=]Mexican SOF team and the cartel soldiers and terrorists, the former of whom are trying to smuggle the latter's suicide bombers into the United States.

* The villains in ''Film/FireBirds'' are a very militant drug cartel, complete with a pair of fighter jets and a mercenary pilot in an attack chopper.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' features a fictionalized version of the Juarez cartel from Mexico, who act as the main antagonists for the first three seasons of the former show (and also play a significant role in the latter show). The New Mexico branch is initially headed by Tuco Salamanca; his cousins Leonel and Marco are [[ProfessionalKillers highly lethal enforcers]] for the main operation; all three were raised by their uncle, Hector, [[TheDragon the longtime right-hand man]] (until [[RetiredMonster a stroke rendered him mute and paralyzed]]) of the head of the cartel, [[GreaterScopeVillain Don]] [[FauxAffablyEvil Eladio]]. Unlike most other fictional drug cartels, their primary business is crystal meth (at least in the series context; it's mentioned they deal in cocaine and heroin offscreen as well). Their relationship with Gus Fring (and therefore Walter White) is... complicated. They aren't as prominent in the plot as other antagonists, especially later on, but it's repeatedly noted that they have by far the most resources of any criminal group featured in the show. While they're still around in Season 4 of ''Breaking Bad'', [[spoiler:Gus ends up supplanting them as a threat by fatally poisoning most of their leadership, which combined with a successful DEA crackdown, cripples their operations in New Mexico]].

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' features a fictionalized version of the Juarez cartel from Mexico, who act as the main antagonists for the first three seasons of the former show (and also play a significant role in the latter show). The New Mexico branch is initially headed by Tuco Salamanca; his cousins Leonel and Marco are [[ProfessionalKillers highly lethal enforcers]] for the main operation; all three were raised by their uncle, Hector, [[TheDragon the longtime right-hand man]] (until [[RetiredMonster a stroke rendered him paralyzed and bound to a wheelchair]]) of the head of the cartel, [[GreaterScopeVillain Don]] [[FauxAffablyEvil Eladio]]. Unlike most other fictional drug cartels, their primary business is crystal meth (at least in the series context; it's mentioned they deal in cocaine and heroin offscreen as well). Their relationship with Gus Fring (and therefore Walter White) is... complicated. They aren't as prominent in the plot as other antagonists, especially later on, but it's repeatedly noted that they have by far the most resources of any criminal group featured in the show. While they're still around in Season 4 of ''Breaking Bad'', [[spoiler:Gus ends up supplanting them as a threat by fatally poisoning most of their leadership, which combined with a successful DEA crackdown, cripples their operations in New Mexico]].

* In ''VideoGame/Uncharted4AThiefsEnd'', Nate's long-lost brother Sam claims that he was broken out of a Panamanian prison by the drug lord Hector Alcazar and his private army, who then demands that Sam give him a huge cut of a lost pirate treasure. [[spoiler:But it's later revealed that Alcazar has actually been [[DeadAllAlong dead for a long time]], and Sam made up this whole story to hide the fact that he was really just bribed out of jail by Rafe Adler, the true [[BigBad villain of the game]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/Uncharted4AThiefsEnd'', Nate's long-lost brother Sam was broken out of a Panamanian jail by the drug lord Hector Alcazar and his private army, who then demands that Sam give him a huge cut of a lost pirate treasure. [[spoiler:But it later turns out that Alcazar has actually been [[DeadAllAlong dead for a long time]], and Sam made up this whole story to hide the fact that he was really bribed out of jail by Rafe Adler, the true [[BigBad villain of the game]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/Uncharted4AThiefsEnd'', Nathan's long-lost brother Sam is broken out of a Panamanian jail by drug lord Hector Alcazar's private army, who then demands that Sam give him a huge cut of a lost pirate treasure. [[spoiler: But this story isn't true, as Alcazar has been DeadAllAlong for a long time, and Sam made up this whole story to hide the fact that he was bribed out of jail by Rafe, the BigBad.]]

* One of the enemy factions in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' are a criminal gang from [[BananaRepublic Santa Prisca]], led by the supervillain mob boss Bane. Most of Bane's henchmen are fellow escapees from the infamous Santa Priscan prison [[HellholePrison Peña Duro]], and they are all [[UndyingLoyalty fanatically loyal]] to their boss beyond what's normally expected of other gangsters. There's also Copperhead, a female [[ProfessionalKiller assassin]] from an unspecified Central American country, though she has no affiliation or connection to Bane beyond both of them being hired by Gotham City kingpin Black Mask [[spoiler:(actually ComicBook/TheJoker in disguise)]] to fight and kill {{Franchise/Batman}}.

-->-- '''Alejandro Sosa''', ''Film/{{Scarface|1983}}''

* ''[[Film/{{Scarface 1983}} Scarface]]'', the 1980s remake, under the command of the Bolivia-stationed Alejandro Sosa.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' features a fictional version of the Mexican Juarez cartel, who act as the main antagonists for the first three seasons. The New Mexico branch is initially headed by Tuco Salamanca; his cousins Leonel and Marco are [[ProfessionalKillers highly lethal enforcers]] for the main operation; all three were raised by their uncle, Hector, [[TheDragon the longtime right hand man]] (until [[RetiredMonster some unknown illness rendered him mute and bound to a wheelchair]]) of the head of the cartel, [[GreaterScopeVillain Don]] [[FauxAffablyEvil Eladio]]. Unlike most other fictional Cartels, their primary business is crystal meth (at least in the series context; it's mentioned they deal in cocaine and heroin off-screen as well). Their relationship with Gus Fring (and therefore Walter White) is... complicated. They aren't as prominent in the plot as other antagonists, especially later on, but it's repeatedly noted that they have by far the most resources of any criminal group featured in the show. While they're still around in season 4, [[spoiler:Gus ends up supplanting them as a threat by poisoning much of their leadership, which combined with a successful DEA crackdown, cripples their operations in New Mexico.]]

* One of the traditional factions in the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series since III.

* ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' features these as enemies at different points. One mission in ''VideoGame/HitmanCodename47'' is a ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Scarface 1983}}''.

* The plot of ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'' is kicked off when Llelwyn Moss finds a bag of money next to several dead or dying cartel members in an apparent drug deal gone wrong. It's later revealed that they worked for real life drug kingpin Pablo Acosta's Juarez Cartel; Acosta then hires [[TheHeavy Anton]] [[ImplacableMan Chigurh]] to kill Moss and get the money back. Chigurh kills his handler and later three other cartel members to take the prize himself, and it becomes a three-way hunt for the money. [[spoiler:Ultimately, cartel hitmen end up killing Moss off-screen (at the cost of two of their own dying in the process) while Chigurh escapes with most of the cash (though, given his injuries and the ongoing manhunt, he's probably not going to get far). While no one in this story gets a happy ending at all, the cartel gets particularly screwed over, having lost over a dozen members and millions of dollars during the events of the film.]]

* ''Film/TripleFrontier'': Five friends, all US military veterans, gather to rob a Colombian cartel from several hundreds of millions of dollars wort of cash in the Amazon rainforest.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' features a fictional version of the Mexican Juarez cartel. The New Mexico branch is initially headed by Tuco Salamanca; his cousins Leonel and Marco are [[ProfessionalKillers highly lethal enforcers]] for the main operation; all three were raised by their uncle, Hector, [[TheDragon the longtime right hand man]] (until [[RetiredMonster some unknown illness rendered him mute and bound to a wheelchair]]) of the head of the cartel, [[GreaterScopeVillain Don]] [[FauxAffablyEvil Eladio]]. Unlike most other fictional Cartels, their primary business is crystal meth. Their relationship with Gus Fring (and therefore Walter White) is... complicated.

* Far more common in Venezuela than Mexico. To the point where some have argued the recent HyperInflation may have actually been a net ''benefit'' (for every day people, that is), since worthless currency means kidnapping and drug sales are a barter market at ''best'', but most likely some form of "not viable"; some criminals caught in neighboring/nearby countries have confessed they migrated because there was ''nothing to steal'' back home. Being next door to Colombia had a lot to do with it. The Chavez and Maduro regimes being self serving and accepting bribes to compensate for falling oil prices had a lot more to do with it.