The 5 Best Cartel Documentaries That Will Give You Chills

Intro: Best Cartel Documentaries

Disclaimer: this article contains content suited only for a mature audience

In a nutshell, a drug cartel refers to an organization promoting, controlling, or is involved in drug trafficking. However, the definition may vary and include everything, from traditional organized groups and street gangs to affiliated individual dealers.

Drug cartel members are often entangled in criminal activities that are not associated with drug trafficking. Once the cartel network grows in influence, finances, and membership, there is potential crime growth along with it.

Several charges are usually levied against the drug cartel members and other organized crimes, such as drug distribution/trafficking, murder, assault, fraud, money laundering, gambling, bribery, etc. If you find this topic interesting, you can watch the following documentaries about cartels.

1. Living With The Cartel: Where Does My Cocaine Come From? - Documentaries about Cartels

In this cartel documentary, four Brits traveled to Medellin, Columbia, to discover how their cocaine got to them. This place is recognized as the top source of cocaine on British streets. The documentary shows the reality of its journey from the Amazon river to some rainforests in Columbia to the worldwide market. It also answers what happens when it becomes more than just a party drug. Will people still take drugs for fun?

2. The Drug Cartels Of Mexico - Mexican Drug Cartel Documentary

This documentary is one of the best cartel documentaries exploring the drug cartels in Mexico. The battle against drug cartels took thousands of lives, where no one was safe, even children. Tijuana, Mexico, is highlighted as the most accessible spot for cartels to focus their shipments. After all, it is the world’s busiest border crossing.

3. On the Front Line With Mexico’s Warring Cartels - Best Cartel Documentaries

This documentary about cartels uncovers the warring cartels in Mexico. Vice News producer Miguel Fernandez Flores and reporter Keegan Hamilton traveled to the conflict’s epicenter in Michoacan, where they met cartel members on both sides. They seek to understand if anything can or will change for the better. The current war is between the United Cartels, an alliance of groups, and Jalisco New Generation Cartel, led by notorious kingpin El Mencho.

4. Inside Mexico's Most Powerful Drug Cartel - Mexican Drug Cartel Documentary

This documentary is one of the interesting drug cartels documentaries as it goes inside the most powerful cartel and meets the footsoldiers. In Sinaloa, Mexico, violence has become a way of life. It is home to the most powerful drug syndicate in Mexico, known as the Sinaloa cartel. The police, which is meant to protect the population, often became the target of violence. Reporter Ben Zand enters the inside of the Sinaloa cartel in the Sierra Madre mountains and witnesses the operations of the group up close.

5. Los Zetas: Most Ruthless and Dangerous Cartel In Mexico - Los Zetas Documentaries

This documentary is about Mexico’s most technologically advanced, dangerous, ruthless, violent, and efficient cartel. The group has expanded from traditional drug trafficking purview to profitable gun-running and sex trafficking rackets. They are known for brutal tactics that show they prefer brutality over bribery, including indiscriminate slaughter, torture, and beheading to terrorize and intimidate their rivals.