Pubdate: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) Copyright: 2013 The Oregonian Contact: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324 Author: Les Zaitz Series: Under the Curse of Cartels - An Oregonian Special Report HISTORY OF MEXICAN CARTELS 1914: The U.S. Harrison Narcotics Tax Act effectively outlaws opium products, creating a strong profit motive for smugglers. 1922: The U.S. bans heroin imports. Traffickers turn to poppy-growing areas of Mexico. 1940s: The U.S. reaches out to Mexico to supplement morphine supplies during World War II. 1960s-'70s: Mexican traffickers become more organized, acting as distributors for Colombian cartels to feed U.S. demand for cocaine and heroin. 1980s: The U.S. cuts off Caribbean cocaine routes and works with Colombia to take apart its cartels. Mexican cartels take control of Colombian cocaine, dramatically increasing profits by becoming the wholesalers. 1990s: Cartels thrive under Mexico's long one-party rule. Leaders mostly leave cartels alone in exchange for peace and power. 2000s: Violence explodes as new Mexican leadership cracks down on cartels and cartels compete for territory. Now: Groups have splintered in recent years, making them difficult to track. The "cartel" label is misleading because the groups don't engage in price-fixing. The Mexican government calls them organized crime groups. The U.S. refers to them generally as cartels but also as transnational crime organizations (TCOs) or drug trafficking organizations (DTOs). Cartels in Oregon Law enforcement officials first saw signs that Mexican cartels were making inroads in Oregon about a dozen years ago, when drug raids began turning up dramatically bigger volumes of contraband. That signaled closer ties to cartels and their supplies. Starting in about 2005, investigations increasingly traced Oregon trafficking organizations back to Mexico. Wiretaps captured traffickers here talking to bosses in Mexico or to Mexican drug suppliers working under the umbrella of cartels. Also about that time, Mexican traffickers began setting up major marijuana grows in Oregon's vast rural areas, in part to circumvent tighter border security. Investigators say traffickers are exploiting Oregon's close ties to Mexico, often following family and friends who've moved here. Mexicans have streamed to Oregon for agriculture jobs for generations. The state also has a longstanding and rapidly growing Latino population. The 2010 Census counted more than 450,000 Latino residents -- nearly 12 percent of the state population, up from 8 percent in 2000. The vast majority, 88 percent, trace their roots to Mexico. Now, officials said, Mexican cartels are expanding their control of drug distribution networks in Oregon and across the U.S. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom