Per Grok:
Where does Mexico get the majority of its cocaine?
Mexico obtains the majority of its cocaine supply from Colombia, the world's largest producer of coca (the raw plant material for cocaine). According to U.S. Department of Justice and UNODC estimates, approximately 90% of cocaine entering Mexico originates from Colombia, with the remainder from Peru and Bolivia. Mexico does not produce cocaine domestically, as it lacks significant coca cultivation; instead, it serves as a key transit hub where Colombian cartels ship the drug via Pacific maritime routes (about 70% of flows), overland through Central America, or air drops. Mexican cartels, such as the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation, then control processing, storage, and onward trafficking—primarily to the United States.This supply chain has been stable for decades, though enforcement pressures (e.g., U.S.-backed Plan Colombia) have occasionally shifted minor routes toward Peru or Bolivia. Recent 2025 data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizures confirm Colombia's dominance, with over 90% of intercepted cocaine tracing back there.
Mexico doesn't get cocaine from Venezuela?
No, Mexico does not receive a significant amount of its cocaine supply from Venezuela. While Venezuela serves as a transit hub for cocaine—primarily Colombian-sourced—that's funneled toward Europe, the Caribbean, or indirect routes to the U.S., the vast majority of cocaine entering Mexico (and subsequently trafficked to the U.S.) originates directly from Colombia via Pacific maritime routes or Central America. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) estimates indicate that about 90% of cocaine reaching the U.S. (via Mexico) is produced in Colombia, with only around 8-10% of U.S.-bound flows passing through the broader Caribbean corridor, of which Venezuela accounts for a small fraction (roughly 200-250 metric tons annually, or less than 10% of global supply). This pattern held steady through 2025, per the State Department's International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.Venezuela's role has been overstated in some political rhetoric, particularly amid U.S. military actions against suspected Venezuelan smuggling boats in 2025, but experts from organizations like the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies emphasize that these shipments are negligible compared to direct Colombian-to-Mexico flows. Venezuela produces virtually no cocaine domestically (coca cultivation there is minimal and border-confined), and any transit through it to Mexico is secondary, often rerouted via clandestine flights or boats that stop in intermediary Caribbean nations first.
Their stories keep changing and get more & more ridiculous, but some people just buy off on them no matter what.
