The NarcoData Project to Analyze 40 Year History of Drug Cartels in Mexico El Daily Post
go to original October 29, 2015

NarcoData is a data journalism project in which Animal Político and El Daily Post explain the evolution and growth of organized crime in Mexico.

There are nine active cartels in Mexico, a country threatened by violence.

Drug cartel leaders become the stuff of legend … Organized crime in Mexico is disproportionately large and its framework is difficult to understand because the cartels don’t just participate in the rapidly growing drugs market, they also sponsor dozens of criminal cells that extort and terrorize the public.

Animal Político identified the need to explain the growth of organized crime and created NarcoData — an interactive website that offers an in-depth study of the past four decades of organized crime in Mexico — so that our readers can more easily understand how it has evolved.

NarcoData is a tool that compiles proven information and presents it in a orderly fashion, with the rigorous attention to detail and innovation that characterizes Animal Político.



This project captures the recent history of organized crime with interactive graphics that demonstrate the rise of cartels, their leaders, the conflicts among them, their geographical expansion and their criminal activities.

The idea behind this site came about when Animal Político obtained documents as a result of a public information request. One document from the Federal Attorney General’s Office (PGR) identified all the criminal cells that operate in Mexico and the cartels they work for. The document also exposed several “myths” spouted by public officials, such as the claim by Mexico City authorities that cartels and organized crime do not operate in the Federal District.

After taking a close look at this document, the entire Animal Político team embraced the challenge of presenting the information in a digital platform to illustrate how drug trafficking reached the scale and influence that it enjoys today.

Read the rest at El Daily Post

Related: Part 1: Seven Presidents, Few Results in the Battle Against Drug Cartels (El Daily Post)

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