History Main / TheCartel

* One of the enemy factions in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' are a criminal gang from [[BananaRepublic Santa Prisca]], led by the supervillain crime boss {{ComicBook/Bane}}. Most of Bane's henchmen are fellow escapees from the infamous Santa Priscan prison [[HellholePrison Peña Duro]], and they all display a [[UndyingLoyalty fanatical, cult-like loyalty]] to their boss, far beyond what's normally expected of other gangsters. Bane's gang does technically engage in drug smuggling; though instead of any normal narcotic substance, they deal in a special steroid called Venom, which makes its users [[SuperStrength superhumanly strong]].
** There's also Copperhead, a female [[ProfessionalKiller assassin]] who was a member of a street gang from an unspecified Central American country; though she has no affiliation or connection whatsoever to Bane, beyond both of them being hired by Gotham City kingpin Black Mask [[spoiler:(who's actually ComicBook/TheJoker in disguise)]] to fight and kill {{Franchise/Batman}}.

[[quoteright:350:[[Series/{{Narcos}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_gentlemen_of_cali.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The Gentlemen of [[UsefulNotes/{{Colombia}} Cali]].]]

* The upcoming ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfareIi'' would feature a fictional drug cartel organization called Las Alamas cartel as one of two principal antagonist forces alongside [[MiddleEasternTerrorists Al-Qatala]] from the previous game, which they helped to smuggle weapons and terrorists across the world.

* ''Film/{{Traffic}}'' features a Mexican cartel as the antagonist.

* The upcoming ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfareIi'' would feature a fictional drug cartel organization called Las Alamas cartel as one of two principal antagonist forces alongside [[MiddleEasternTerrorists Al-Qatala]] from the previous game.

* The upcoming ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfareIi'' would feature a fictional drug cartel organization called Las Alamas cartel to serve as one of two principal antagonist forces alongside [[MiddleEasternTerrorists Al-Qatala]] from the previous game.

* The upcoming ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfareIi'' would feature a fictional drug cartel organization called Las Alamas cartel as one of the principal antagonist forces alongside [[MiddleEasternTerrorists Al-Qatala]].

* ''Literature/TheCartel'' focuses on the war against the cartels in Mexico. The main ones are: the Sinaloa Cartel, Los Zetas, La Familia Michoacana and the Juarez Cartel.
* ''The Power of The Dog'' and its sequel ''The Cartel'', both written by Creator/DonWinslow, chart the growth of the Mexican drug trade from its infancy in the Sixties to the unbelievable carnage of the early-2000s. True crime fans will immediately notice that while all names and groups are fictional, almost all of them are either based on or inspired by actual criminals, cops, cartels, terrorist organizations, and events. Chief among the characters are [[CowboyCop DEA Agent Arturo "Art" Keller]] and his lifelong nemesis [[TheDon Adan Barrera]].
** Winslow spent [[ShownTheirWork six years]] researching the Mexican underworld, on both sides of the border, to make the first novel as realistic as possible.

* The Cartel (usually either Colombian or Mexican) has made many appearances in various shows in the ''Series/LawAndOrder'' franchise, usually portrayed as being untouchable due to their ruthless and violent nature. Any episode showcasing the cartel has a high probability of ending with all witnesses either dead or too scared to testify (which is TruthInTelevision, as most papers in Mexico are too scared to publish any stories speaking negatively towards the Zetas; hence why Reporters Without Borders [[http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2013,1054.html don't consider their press truly free, even though they legally have the right to print what they want]]), thus allowing the SmugSnake defendant to walk free. In one instance, on the ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' episode "Loss", this resulted in the show's ADA being forced to fake her own death and [[PutOnABus enter witness protection]] to avoid a contract on her life.
** The second season finale of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' featured Colombian cartels on the rampage. Aside from the large number of people directly killed by the gangsters in order to silence them, Det. Cereta was shot by a scuzzy witness, ending his career on the beat.

* Season 3 of ''Series/TwentyFour'' prominently featured one run by Ramon and Hector Salazar, [[DiscOneFinalBoss the main antagonists of the season's first half]]. As well as the usual drug smuggling, they're trying to diversify by planning to obtain a deadly virus.
* The Cartel--of various ethnic flavors--shows up fairly frequently on ''Series/BurnNotice'', in various roles: sometimes as the enemy, sometimes as the ManBehindTheMan, and sometimes as an unwitting ally.

* One of the subplots of ''Series/TheBridgeUS'' involves a cartel operating out of Juarez and using a tunnel on the property of a recently-widowed woman to move their products into the United States. The second season reveals that [[spoiler: the cartel is managed by the CIA to a certain extent, in order to control it]]
* The Cartel is involved in one of the major subplots of ''Series/KillerWomen''.
* ''Series/GangRelated'' is about a cop who's actually TheMole for a Mexican mob. [[GoodFeelsGood He starts to enjoy being the good guy]], which causes problems when the police start investigating his gang.
* A couple of episodes of ''Series/TheWestWing'' revolve around an international crisis triggered when a group of undercover D.E.A agents are exposed and held hostage by a cartel in Colombia who demand the release of their imprisoned leader (a thinly-veiled version of Pablo Escobar) as a ransom. President Bartlet instead orders a daring covert military operation to rescue them. [[spoiler: Unfortunately the rescuers are led into a trap, several are killed, and the hostages moved to a location so remote and well-defended that the only military option would be to essentially launch a Vietnam-like war to defeat the cartels, leaving Bartlet no option but to negotiate the cartel leader's release via back channels.]]

* ''Series/QueenOfTheSouth'' is about a young Mexican woman participating in cocaine trafficking and rising through the ranks of the Vargas Cartel (a pastiche of the real life Sinaloa Cartel). Eventually, she leaves the group to start her own drug cartel.

* ''Series/TheGifted2017'': Marcos used his powers as a cartel enforcer for a time, before leaving to join the Mutant Underground.

* The second season of ''Series/SEALTeam'' features a 5-episode long story arc to hunt down a drug lord named Andreas Doza in Mexico, who runs one of the most powerful cartels in the country.
* ''Film/{{Arachnicide}}'': The secondary antagonists are a worldwide drug ring using genetic engineering to maximize crops.

* ''Series/DeadlyClass'': El Alma Del Diablo runs part of his cartel. In Kings Diamond there are also the Soto Vatos, a gang of cartel kids. Maria is a member.

** Although it has to be noted that the most dangerous individual in this universe also works for a Cartel - but this Cartel is benign compared to everyone else, [[BerserkButton as long as you do not threaten its heir]].

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.

The Mafia...[[RecycledInSpace BUT HISPANIC!]]

[[folder:Comicbooks]]
* While Comicbook/ThePunisher was taking a [[BusmansHoliday vacation]] in the pages of ''The Punisher War Journal'', he ran afoul of a Peruvian crime lord who became his prime target after an terror attack on a judge that left several innocent bystanders dead.

* Season 3 of ''Series/TwentyFour'' prominently featured one run by Ramon and Hector Salazar, [[DiscOneFinalBoss the main antagonists of the season's first half]]. As well as the usual drug smuggling, they're trying to diversify by planning to obtain a deadly virus..

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

** 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]].

* One of the enemy factions in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' are a criminal gang from [[BananaRepublic Santa Prisca]], led by the supervillain mob boss {{ComicBook/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}}.

* The plot of ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'' is kicked off when a local Texas man named Llelwyn Moss finds a bag of money next to several dead or dying Mexican 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 the hitman [[ImplacableMan Anton 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 offscreen (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 Juarez Cartel gets particularly screwed over, having lost over a dozen members and millions of dollars during the events of the film.]]

* ''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, with cocaine still their primary export in the prequel until it's displaced by meth). 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 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 [[ImplacableMan Anton 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.]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Series/{{Narcos}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cali_cartel_800x450.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The Gentlemen of Cali.]]

* ''Series/{{Narcos}}'': THE Cartel, in fact. The whole series is about the DEA's hunt for Pablo Escobar in [[UsefulNotes/TheEighties the '80s]], as well as his rise to power and eventual fall. And while Pablo and his Medellín Cartel take center stage, the rival Cali Cartel also shows up towards the end of the first season. After Escobar's ultimate demise, the Cali godfathers take center stage in season three. The show also provides a contrast between the two, with the Medellin cartel being run by rural gangsters and using terrorist tactics against the government and its drug rivals, while the Cali cartel rubs shoulders with the Colombian elites and prefers to keep its activities under wraps to prevent scrutiny from law enforcement agencies.

** Usually Mexican Cartels are business-like and exude a PragmaticVillainy aura: they usually look for profit and if you don't mess with them, they don't mess with you.[[note]]A common adage among criminals is that you only beat the debtor half to death; if he's still in the hospital he can still make the next payment.[[/note]] Los Zetas took this to the opposite extreme: running protection rackets against anyone regardless of economic level or profit, attacking and killing civilians [[ForTheEvulz for little to no reason]], killing the entire family of an enemy instead of only the enemy, kidnapping and horribly killing victims even when the ransom is paid, among other atrocities to a nationwide extent. And we have yet to get to the nasty parts; folks who have pissed off Mexican Cartels particularly badly usually have [[CruelAndUnusualDeath demises of the sort you can only see on]] [=LiveLeak=] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath and never leave your mind again even if just described]].

** Usually Mexican Cartels are business-like and exude a PragmaticVillainy aura: they usually look for profit and if you don't mess with them, they don't mess with you.[[note]]A common adage among criminals is that you only beat the debtor half to death; if he's still in the hospital he can still make the next payment.[[/note]] Los Zetas took this to the opposite extreme: running protection rackets against anyone regardless of economic level or profit, attacking and killing civilians [[ForTheEvulz for little to no reason]], killing the entire family of an enemy instead of only the enemy, kidnapping and horribly killing victims even when the ransom is paid, among other atrocities to a nationwide extent. And we have yet to get to the nasty parts; folks who have pissed off Mexican Cartels particularly badly usually have demises of the sort you can only see on [=LiveLeak=] and [[CruelAndUnusualDeath never leave your mind again even if just described]].

** Usually Mexican Cartels are business-like and exude a PragmaticVillainy aura: they usually look for profit and if you don't mess with them, they don't mess with you.[[note]]A common adage among criminals is that you only beat the debtor half to death; if he's still in the hospital he can still make the next payment.[[/note]] Los Zetas took this to the opposite extreme: running protection rackets against anyone regardless of economic level or profit, attacking and killing civilians [[ForTheEvulz for little to no reason]], killing the entire family of an enemy instead of only the enemy, kidnapping and horribly killing victims even when the ransom is paid, among other atrocities to a nationwide extent. And we have yet to get to the nasty parts; folks who have pissed off Mexican Cartels particularly badly usually have demises of the sort you can only see on [=LiveLeak=] and [[NightmareFuel never leave your mind again even if just described]].

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.

->''"I only tell you this one time. Don't fuck me, Tony. Don't you'' ever ''try to fuck me."''
-->-- '''Alejandro Sosa''', ''{{Film/Scarface|1983}}''

* ''VideoGame/SoldierOfFortune II'' has the Colombian terrorist group La Fuerza del Dios, supported by drug lord Manuel Vergara.

* WesternAnimation/AmericanDad: ''[[Recap/AmericanS17E1OneHundredYearsASolidFool 100 Years a Solid Fool]]'' reveals that one of Roger the Alien's many personas is a Colombian drug lord known as [[Series/Narcos "El Narco."]] Stan encountered this particular persona back in his early days with the CIA [[Series/MiamiVice (when he was intercepting drugs in Miami, Florida back in the 1980s).]]

One of the most infamous cartels was the Medellin cartel, and its leader [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_cartel2_884.jpg Pablo Escobar,]] who ran most of the cocaine trade in the Americas during the 80's and 90's, until he was taken down by the Colombian Search Bloc with the assistance of the United States. Escobar's power and reach was so big during his heyday that he was (and still is) referred to as the "world's greatest outlaw." Additionally, the financial magazine ''Forbes'' described him as the [[https://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2015/09/15/watching-netflixs-narcos-heres-pablo-escobar-in-forbes-first-ever-billionaire-issue-in-1987/#1ea33a5b4369 "world's richest criminal."]] Even today, when most people think of Colombia, they think "Cocaine Land" (or should we say, ''País de la Cocaína?" Because "cocaína" is a really common word when discussing these people).

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 foreseeable future.

** Usually Mexican Cartels are business-like and exude a PragmaticVillainy aura: they usually look for profit and if you don't mess with them, they don't mess with you.[[note]]A common adage among criminals is that you only beat the debtor half to death; if he's still in the hospital he can still make the next payment.[[/note]] Los Zetas took this to the opposite extreme: running protection rackets against anyone regardless of economic level or profit, attacking and killing civilians for little to no reason, killing the entire family of an enemy instead of only the enemy, kidnapping and horribly killing victims even when the ransom is paid, among other atrocities to a nationwide extent. And we have yet to get to the nasty parts; folks who have pissed off Mexican Cartels particularly badly usually have demises of the sort you can only see on [=LiveLeak=] and [[BrainBleach never leave your mind again even if just described]].

* ''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.