International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 1, Winter 2019/2020 | Page 81

International Journal on Criminology
To conduct this war, the cartels have recruited the most brutal “killing-machines,”
Guatemala’s Kaibiles, highly trained militaries reportedly responsible for
many massacres and who massively deserted the army since the end of the war
in 1996 (United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services 2000). 7
Over the past few years, Mexican cartels have entered a vicious cycle of terror actions
which has increasingly diffused a culture of violence through songs, videos,
and messages (notably via digital tools). They broadcast mass murders live, bury
people alive, use torture tools such as electric saws, light people on fire using oil,
or announce their new victims screaming “grilled meat! grilled meat!” in the war
zones (Saviano 2014).
Finally, it is interesting to note that Mafias are challenging Nation-States
normative discourse by targeting medias and the entertainment industry. Since
the late 1960s, U.S. Cosa Nostra’ Families have increased their shares in pornographic
and classic entertainment companies. Through Meyer Lanski’s heir
Alvin Malnik, the Mafia has, for instance, massively invested in the Film Enterprises
and Distributors Company, which notably produced Frank Sinatra or the
Rat Pack band. Malnik was also notoriously close to Michael Jackson whom he
saved from bankruptcy several times. Famous movies favorably presenting Mafias’
values such as the Godfathers trilogy or the Things of Ours were also notoriously
directed by Mafiosi such as Danny Provenzano (Cockayne 2016). Similarly,
in Japan, in the 1970s, Yakuzas produced over 1,500 apologetic movies through
the company Toei.
III. Mafias’ Multifaceted Political Power
Thanks to their acquisition of an incredible amount of wealth and resources,
Mafias influence Nation-States, control them or shape their destiny in several
regions of the world, becoming either indispensable partners, hidden
masters, or indestructible opponents.
3.1. Mafias’ Political Strategies on Domestic Scenes
The primary source of Mafias governmental power originates in their influence,
shaping or dictating of Nation-States’ policymaking and implementation process.
Captivatingly, Mafias appear to have built unique flexible political strategies which
adjust to the balance of power with their opponents in local contexts, hence becoming
a key international actor.
ficially fighting a messianic battle, protecting the poorest and weakest, against other cartels. Their
use of rituals and religious terminology to justify their actions did not prevent them to commit
horrendous atrocities and to run some of the most profitable criminal activities in the country.
7 Kaibiles training involve terrifying survival and killing tests. In recent years, drug seizures in Guatemala
have reportedly dropped five times compared to their level in the 1990s notably because of
paramilitaries involvement in drug trafficking, prostitution, and racket activities.
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