Mexican cartels expand meth operations into South Africa, expert says
Dr Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution says the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación are partnering with local criminal groups. She says they want to set up methamphetamine production and distribution networks.
Felbab-Brown researches nonstate armed groups at the Brookings Institution. She said South Africa attracts the cartels because it is a trans-shipment hub with existing drug trafficking networks and weak law enforcement. She also named possible local consumption markets as a draw.
She said the Mexican groups train local cooks and facilitators to make highly potent methamphetamine. She said the cartels usually work through local groups and do not bring their own hitmen. In her view, they often push those partners against each other.
Felbab-Brown warned that the expansion could amplify gang violence and threaten governance through corruption. She also said: "A crucial market, crucial target for the Mexican cartels is Australia and New Zealand. And of course, South Africa lies conveniently en route to those markets"
Key facts
- Who
- Dr Vanda Felbab-Brown (researcher at the Brookings Institution's Initiative on Nonstate Armed Groups); Sinaloa Cartel (Mexican drug cartel); Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (Mexican drug cartel); Brookings Institution (think tank)
- What
- Dr Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution's Initiative on Nonstate Armed Groups discusses why major Mexican drug cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, are expanding their methamphetamine operations into South Africa by partnering with local criminal groups. She identifies South Africa's position as a trans-shipment hub, existing drug trafficking…
- When
- 8 October 2026
- Where
- South Africa, North West, Cape Town
- Status
- Reported