That level of collusion may be unique to the state of Guerrero, experts say, where the long history of drug trafficking and a heavily militarized state presence would have created fertile ground for such relationships. But in Mexico, the lines between trafficking organizations and the state have long been blurry, scholars say. And that has had profound consequences not just for organized crime, but for the development of the Mexican state itself. ‘Criminal state-building’“There really is no binary between the ‘bad’ cartels and the ‘good’ state,” said Alexander Aviña, an Arizona State historian who studies the drug trade in Mexico. Rather, he said, there is a long history of Mexican officials taking money from drug traffickers to fund the government, not just personal bribes.

---

Persons: ”, Alexander Aviña, Benjamin T, Smith Organizations: Arizona State, ”, Warwick University Locations: Guerrero, Mexico, Mexican, Arizona, Sinaloa