Cartel executions are targeted, often brutal, killings carried out by organized crime groups to maintain power, control territory, enforce discipline, and intimidate rivals, authorities, and the public. These acts are a strategic tool for the cartels, not random violence. 

Motives and Purpose

Executions serve several key functions within the dynamics of organized crime:

• Territorial Control: Asserting dominance over specific regions and smuggling routes is a primary motive for eliminating rivals.
• Intimidation and Psychological Impact: The public and often gruesome nature of the killings, sometimes involving the display of bodies in public places like bridges, is intended to instill widespread fear and enforce a “code of silence,” discouraging cooperation with law enforcement.
• Internal Discipline: Members who show dissent, disloyalty, or fail to follow the cartel’s strict codes of conduct face execution to ensure adherence to rules.
• Elimination of Threats: Targeted assassinations of rivals, informants, journalists who report on their activities, or law enforcement personnel are common tactics to remove direct threats to their operations. 

Methods

Cartels employ a variety of brutal methods, often chosen for the specific message they send. These can range from execution-style shootings and beheadings to more gruesome methods such as dissolving bodies in caustic substances or burning human remains in clandestine crematoriums. Military-style tactics and sophisticated planning are often involved. 

Impact

Cartel violence has a significant impact on public safety, regional security, and economic stability. Mexico has recorded hundreds of thousands of murders and tens of thousands of missing persons since 2006, many linked to organized crime. 

In the U.S., incidents described as “cartel-style executions” have occurred, such as the 2023 massacre of a family, including a baby and a teenager, in Goshen, California, which authorities linked to gang and narcotics activity. U.S. law enforcement agencies like ICE actively work to combat transnational criminal organizations and their violent enforcement actions.