In the fight against Mexican criminal cartels, social network analysis can predict and map out their alliances and subgroups — using algorithms to predict new connections. In this commentary, Nonresident Scholar in Drug Policy and Mexico Studies Nathan P. Jones and his co-authors outline their recent work in the field.

This paper builds on social network analysis (SNA) and the use of node similarity-based algorithms to make link predictions about Mexico’s network of criminal organizations.

Abstract

This article assesses Mexico’s organized crime alliance and subgroup network structures. Through social network…

This paper maps out the network of alliances and subgroups within the two most powerful cartels in Mexico — the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación — and reveals key structural differences that could have important implications for policymakers.

The drastic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on organized crime in Mexico requires policymakers and law enforcement in the U.S. and Mexico to adapt their strategies, the authors write.

Nonresident scholar Nathan P. Jones analyzes Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman’s transfer to a Mexican prison near the Texas border and how it may impact his possible extradition and prosecution in the U.S.

Baker Institute experts explain how Friday's arrest of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman will affect the Peña Nieto administration, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Mexican government's "kingpin strategy" to destroy the cartels.

How will Mexico's government and military respond in the long run to the humiliating escape of Chapo Guzman, the country's most powerful drug trafficker?

In 2012, the Drug Policy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute and the South Texas College of Law (STCL) established a unique agreement to work together on model legislation for the decriminalization and regulation of marijuana in Texas. The collaboration was initiated by students and supported by the administrations and faculties of both educational institutions. South Texas College of Law students produced 19 separate statutes for their public law course in the spring 2013 semester. They were asked to write model legislation regarding some aspect of marijuana policy and provide well-reasoned commentary for their statutes. Experts from the Baker Institute’s Drug Policy Program gave guest lectures on drug policy issues and worked with STCL professor Drury Stevenson to provide a general direction for the course. The goal of the collaboration between the STCL and the Baker Institute was to create a variety of statutes that legislators and government officials can consult and learn from as marijuana policy is increasingly debated over the next decade. Neither the Baker Institute nor the South Texas College of Law endorses any particular policy. The model legislation has not undergone editorial review by the Baker Institute.