There is no single global figure for murders caused by cartels, as this data is not tracked systematically worldwide. However, estimates from specific regions, like Mexico’s drug war, show significant numbers. For example, Mexico had over 33,000 murder investigations in 2018, and between 2006 and 2010, an estimated 12,456 cartel members were killed in that conflict alone

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• No global total: It is not possible to provide a definitive global number for murders attributed to cartels, as such data is not collected consistently across all countries.
• Mexico as an example: In Mexico, cartel violence has led to a high number of homicides, with over 33,341 murder investigations opened in 2018, according to Wikipedia.
• Regional data: Between 2006 and 2010, an estimated 12,456 cartel members were killed in Mexico’s drug war

South Texas has been the site of numerous brutal crimes, with the most notorious often involving serial killers, mass murders, and cold cases that have shocked the public and defied resolution for decades.

Notable Historical Cases

• The Houston Mass Murders (The “Candy Man” Killings): This is considered one of the worst serial killing cases in U.S. history. Between 1970 and 1973, Dean Corll, aided by two teenage accomplices (Elmer Wayne Henley and David Brooks), sexually tortured and murdered at least 28 boys and young men in the Houston area. Their bodies were discovered in multiple mass graves, including a rented boat shed, Lake Sam Rayburn, and beaches.
• The “Texas Killing Fields” Murders: Between the 1970s and 1990s, the bodies of around 35 slain women were discovered in a 25-acre stretch of remote field between Houston and Galveston. Decades-long investigations revealed that at least two independent serial killers were allegedly involved. Many of these cases, such as the murders of Heidi Fye, Laura Miller, Audrey Lee Cook, and Donna Gonsoulin Prudhomme, remained unsolved for a long time, with some still being active cold cases.
• The Arellano Family Mass Murder: In 1968, five members of the Arellano family traveling from Mexico had their car break down in rural Edwards County (south of Sonora, Texas). They were shot, stabbed, and beaten to death in what remains one of Texas’s most heinous unsolved mass murders. 

Significant Recent & Regional Crimes

• The Uvalde School Shooting: While technically considered South Central Texas, the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde was one of the deadliest in the state’s history, resulting in the deaths of 19 children and two teachers.
• The Sutherland Springs Church Shooting: In 2017, a gunman opened fire at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs (near San Antonio), killing 26 people in the worst mass shooting in Texas history at that time.
• The “San Antonio Strangler” Case: Johnny Joe Avalos was identified as the “San Antonio Strangler,” responsible for killing at least five women, primarily sex workers, on the city’s south side in the early 2000s.
• The Murder of Nicole Perry: In a particularly gruesome 2020 case, Nicole Perry was brutally murdered and dismembered with a machete and axe inside a known drug house in San Antonio.
• The Murder of Heather Willms and Esmeralda Herrera: These two murders, six years apart (2005 and 2011), were eventually linked to a mutual friend, Jose Baldomero Flores, who was a pallbearer at Willms’ funeral. 

Many of the worst crimes in the region remain unsolved cold cases, which the public can view on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Unsolved Homicide website in hopes of providing new leads.