• Medellin - has a culture of violence that "makes the streets among the most dangerous on earth"
• The murder rate is nine times that of New York City. 
• Founders are: Pablo Escobar, the Ochoa Family, and Carlos Lehder-Rivas

• The most notorious member of the cartel
• Recieved a high school education but was too poor to attend college.
• Owned his on Island, planes, and a runway
• Offered a bounty for every police officer killed
• Dec. 2, 1993-killed in a shootout on a rooftop with police and military.
• He was using a cell phone to call his family when they found where he was.

• Fabio Ochoa Restrepo - owned a country estate with herds of cattle and horses
• Jorge Ochoa (Vazquez) - middle son - Lived in Miami-imported cocaine for his Uncle
• Jorge was arrested in Spain and after 2 yrs. in prison awaiting extradition to the US, got extradited to Colombia.

• Loose alliance of 5 major trafficking groups
• Preeminece shared by crime families of Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela("the chess player"), his brother Miguel, and Jose Santacruz Londono
• Memebers favor bribery over violence
• Operations in the US were in Elmhurst-Jackson Heights area of New York
• Crackdown of cartel had a impact on the Colombian economy

Sinaloa Cartel

• Originated in L.A. with roots from El Salvador
• means: street-tough Salvadoran posse
• Strong and extremely violent presence
• more recently moved into more rural parts of the US
• they have establlished in Canada
• recognized by the tattoos on their heads, necks, and arms.
• has elaborate initiation ceremonies that include beatings, colors, and hand signs
• Traffic meth, large-scale theft, chop shops, and extortion
• Deported and often return to the US with more members.

• Prison-based gangs
• the most powerful of the prison organized crimes
• "blood-in-blood-out" credo
• Named out of admiration for La Cosa Nostra
• Attempts to diminish by transferring members, helped spread their influence.