Twilight of the Narcos: Drug Cartels in T2k

[Raellus]

IIRC, there's been discussion here of what role, if any, drug cartels may have played in the Mexican invasion of the SW USA. Beyond that, AFAIK, it's a topic that hasn't really come up.

What would happen to drug cartels after the TDM and the ensuing global breakdown of modern techno-capitalist civilization?

Drug cartels derive their power from money. It pays for the guns, sicarios, foot soldiers, corrupt politicians and police, and transportation and distribution networks that narcos rely on to expand and maintain their territories, business concerns, and power. I imagine that, after the TDM, the global market for drugs would more or less collapse. First off, a lot of customers or potential customers would be swallowed up by the draft prior to the nuclear exchanges, or incinerated during them. Second, refugees typically don't have a lot of cash or property to buy or trade for drugs; most survivors would be more preoccupied with day to day survival than getting high (although, for established addicts, those two considerations are not mutually exclusive). Third, the global transportation networks that move drugs across borders and distribute them on a large scale would break down due to a lack of fuel and damage to infrastructure. I just don't see the drug business being profitable, or even sustainable, after the war crosses the nuclear threshold.

So, what happens to drug cartels after the TDM? Do they hang on and continue to operate as best they can in the post-Armageddon world? Do they collapse and disappear? (Good riddance!) Do they evolve? If so, what do they become? I have some thoughts on this, but I'd like to hear from you.

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