This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. The escalation of violence between rival drug cartels, street gangs, and the government within Mexico has created concern in both Mexico and the United States. The fluid situation surrounding the Mexican drug war has led to much speculation about how to classify the powerful drug cartels conducting it. There is literature debating whether the cartels are merely a criminal enterprise or whether the cartels represent a new terrorist insurgency in Mexico. Utilizing multiple definitions of "terrorism" and "insurgency," this study developed a conceptual model to compare and contrast with the activities of the drug cartels. The primary conclusion drawn is that the drug cartels do not represent an insurgency, rather they continue to operate as criminal organizations that occasionally use terrorist tactics.

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION * Introduction and Background * Key Terms * Limitations and Delimitations * CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW * Existing MMAS Theses * Defining Characteristics of Terrorist Insurgency * History of Mexican Drug Cartels * No Insurgency vs Insurgency * CHAPTER 3 - RESEARCH METHODOLOGY * Secondary Research Question One: What are the defining characteristics of a "terrorist insurgency"? * Secondary Research Question Two: What is the historical background and current state of the major drug cartels? * Secondary Research Question Three: Why have the drug cartels become so violent? * Weaknesses of Methodology * CHAPTER 4 - ANALYSIS * Section One: Defining Characteristics of Insurgency and Terrorism * Section Two: History and Current State of Mexican Drug Cartels * Sinaloa Federation * Los Zetas Cartel * Beltran Leyva Cartel * Knights Templar Cartel * Gulf Cartel * Juarez Cartel * Tijuana Cartel * Section Three: Drug War * Section Four: Mexico's Drug Cartels as a Terrorist Insurgency? * CHAPTER 5 - CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS * Section One: Answering the Primary Research Question * Section Two: Significance of This Study * Section Three: Recommendations for Future Study * Section Four: Conclusion