Organized Crime (Drug Trafficking) and Environmental Preservation, the Pending Issue of Public Safety in Mexico

Abstract

This study explores the incursion of criminal groups dedicated to drug trafficking in Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) of Mexico. Focusing on the social, economic, and environmental impact of the incidence of these groups in the NPAs conservation efforts, our approach allows the inclusion of the environmental dimension of sustainable development in the paradigm of public security. Methodologically, semi-structured interviews were conducted with public servants of the NPAs at the national level, examining the war against drug trafficking period in a diachronic manner. The results of our research show that NPAs have always been part of the drug trafficking scene, as territories of cultivation and mobilization of drugs and as strategic control areas, placing the environment and people of the NPAs in situations of insecurity.