Mexican cartels are fifth-largest employers in the country, study finds

Cartel gunmen clashed with Mexican authorities after Ovidio Guzman, son of Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, was detained by police in Culiacan, Mexico, on 17 October 2019. Photograph: Reuters

Organised crime groups in Mexico have about 175,000 members – making them the fifth-biggest employer in the country, according to new research published in the journal Science.

Using a decade of data on homicides, missing persons and incarcerations, as well as information about interactions between rival factions, the paper published on Thursday mathematically modeled overall cartel membership, and how levels of violence would respond to a range of policies.