The rival cartels battling for control of Mexico's multibillion-dollar narcotics trade are as notorious for their consumption of drugs as their use of extreme violence. But the fastest-growing faction in the country's bloody drug wars is a quasi-religious sect that celebrates family values and keeps its members teetotal.
According to a steady leak of intelligence documents to the Mexican press, La Familia recruits members from rehab clinics and forbids them from drink and drugs. Advancement within the organisation depends as much on regular attendance at prayer meetings as on target practice.
The cartel's leader, known as El Mas Loco, the Maddest One, preaches his organisation's divine right to eliminate enemies and insists the group only traffic drugs outside their home territory. According to local press reports, he carries a "bible" of his own sayings and insists that his army of traffickers and hitmen avoid the narcotics they sell.
"La Familia uses religion as a way of forcing cohesion among its members," said Raúl Benítez, an expert on Mexican trafficking organisations. "They are building a new kind of disciplined army that we have never seen here before. It makes them more dangerous."
The first hints that something unusual was afoot came in November 2006 with the appearance of a newspaper advert in which La Familia formally announced its existence.
"Some of our strategies are sometimes strong but this is the only way to impose order for the good of the people," the advert said. "Maybe some people won't understand at first, but they will."
From trading in cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine, La Familia has diversified into kidnapping, armed robbery and counterfeiting. It is also alleged to have financed and supported dozens of local politicians. Once a local partner of the powerful Gulf cartel, La Familia is now considered one of the country's five largest trafficking organisationsThe rival cartels battling for control of Mexico's multibillion-dollar narcotics trade... more
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