Each year, thousands of Central American migrants crossing Mexico are exploited for sex and labor by Mexican drug cartels. The problem has worsened in recent years, as the cartels convert human smuggling operations into complex trafficking organizations that target vulnerable migrants in Mexico. The largest cartels have absorbed or destroyed smaller groups, expanding their monopoly control over human trafficking networks in Mexico. Corruption, lawlessness and violence, particularly against women and children, have accompanied the consolidation of power among the cartels.
Compiled from: Davila, Ana, Drug Cartels: Where Human Trafficking and Human Smuggling Meet Today, The Huffington Post (June 16, 2015).