Episode 96: Maxican Money Laundering in the United States -- Analysis and Proposals for Reform

Cartels, Conspiracies, and Camarena

The efforts of Mexican cartels to launder the hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit profits in the U.S. have been a focus of law enforcement and regulators on both sides of the border. In this Episode, I discuss an analysis of those laundering efforts published in the Journal of Illicit Economies and Development.

The article, among other topics, details incidents of corruption at the highest levels of the Mexican government. The article also discusses the money laundering statutes in the United States.

The article provides a case study of money laundering by Los Zetas through the quarter horse racing industry in the U.S. The authors then present several examples of systemics corruption in the Mexican government at the state level.

Finally, we discuss the six proposals for reform the authors suggest might assist in stemming the flow of illicit funds into the U.S.