Part 11/11:
The repeated failure of the kingpin strategy highlights a need for a fundamental shift in approach. Focusing solely on high-profile captures ignores the resilience and adaptability of these criminal networks. Instead, strategies must pivot toward systemic reforms—targeting finances, logistics, corruption, and entire networks—if there's to be any hope of long-term success.
In the words of investigative journalists and experts like Katarina Schultz, the current paradigm perpetually fuels cycles of violence and instability. To genuinely combat cartels, authorities must think beyond the “hydra” of the kingpin and confront the entire system that sustains it. Only then can the cycle of violence be broken, and the root causes be addressed, paving the way for genuine progress in the war on drugs.