PLAY PODCASTS
How Killing Cartel Kingpins Backfires: Fragmentation, Violence, and Chaos
Season 1 · Episode 8

How Killing Cartel Kingpins Backfires: Fragmentation, Violence, and Chaos

Borderland: Dispatches with Katarina Szulc

June 12, 202525m 5sExplicit

Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (traffic.megaphone.fm) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.

Show Notes

In this episode of Borderland: Dispatches, Katarina examines the long-running “kingpin strategy” used by the U.S. and Mexican governments to dismantle drug cartels by targeting their top leaders. Drawing on case studies from major criminal organizations, she outlines how this approach often leads to the fragmentation of cartels, the rise of rival factions, and increased violence. The episode explores the operational logic behind the strategy, its historical outcomes, and why some experts argue it may be counterproductive.



Borderland is an IRONCLAD Original

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices