A most excellent read. Mexico will never become all that it can be until or unless truly tackles organized crime. The United States broke the back of the Italian-American Mafia by aggressively using Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in the 1980s and 1990s.
RICO, introduced in 1970, allowed law enforcement to charge entire organizations and their leaders with criminal conspiracy, even if the leaders themselves did not directly commit the crimes. This shift enabled authorities to target Mafia bosses and significantly weakened the control that crime families held over various illicit enterprises.
While the Mafia still exists today, it is a shell of its former self largely because federal prosecutors turned to using RICO. Does Mexico have a similar federal law in place? I have no idea, but it was instrumental in dismantling the traditional Mafia structure in the U.S.
A most excellent read. Mexico will never become all that it can be until or unless truly tackles organized crime. The United States broke the back of the Italian-American Mafia by aggressively using Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in the 1980s and 1990s.
RICO, introduced in 1970, allowed law enforcement to charge entire organizations and their leaders with criminal conspiracy, even if the leaders themselves did not directly commit the crimes. This shift enabled authorities to target Mafia bosses and significantly weakened the control that crime families held over various illicit enterprises.
While the Mafia still exists today, it is a shell of its former self largely because federal prosecutors turned to using RICO. Does Mexico have a similar federal law in place? I have no idea, but it was instrumental in dismantling the traditional Mafia structure in the U.S.