In waging war against the United States, terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda and ISIS take most of the media attention. While the threat posed by these organizations is valid and cannot be taken lightly, the methods and supplies they use to carry out their goals are hard to acquire, and even harder to move into the United States, a prime target of both criminals and terrorists. With that understanding, it is easy to say that the biggest threat to US sovereignty lies in the hands of the Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs), which are heavily composed of Mexican, Central and South American drug cartels, and the U.S street gangs that they employ to do their bidding. These cartels stage their North American enterprises in Mexico, but run operations into the United States. Therefore, they not only have the advantage of being in close proximity to the US border, but they also benefit from a diverse money-making empire that ranges from the sale of illicit narcotics and weapons, prostitution, sex slavery and human trafficking, to legitimate businesses that are used to generate revenue and launder illegal proceeds. The cartels, as they exist today, came into prominence in the early to mid-2000s when the southern border of the United States became divided territory assigned to specific ones. In that, they each staked out a section of the border across which they would run their criminal enterprises without competition or threat from the others. The putative agreement that created this new, formal structure only enhanced their successes. These border areas are called “plazas” (defined areas of the border for illicit purposes) and each cartel controls its area through extreme violence. Violence is used to increase protection in the assigned areas, and to deter those not willing to pay the bribes necessary to operate along the border. The violence has not been isolated to Mexico, however, and has spilled across the border into the United States to varying degrees. This has even manifested itself in shootouts across and well inside US territory, to include firearms engagements with American law enforcement. Increasing the threat of these TCOs is a terrorist connection. Recent intelligence is showing a growing trend of association between these cartels and overseas terrorist organizations. The use of the cartels’ land and sea routes of ingress into the US, and the tunnels dug underneath the border, serve as ready gateways for terrorists and possibly even the movement of weapons of mass destruction. The first step in countering these increasing threats is to understand the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by these groups to conduct their operations. With the lessons and assignments in this course, you will get a chance to analyze the various TTPs used by the TCOs and take a studied look at what has gone right, and what still needs to be improved. Specifically, the paper should meet the following criteria requirements: ...

1. In waging war against the United States, terrorist organizations
such as Al Qaeda and ISIS take most of the media attention.
While the threat posed by these organizations is valid and
cannot be taken lightly, the methods and supplies they use to
carry out their goals are hard to acquire, and even harder to
move into the United States, a prime target of both criminals
and terrorists. With that understanding, it is easy to say that the
biggest threat to US sovereignty lies in the hands of the
Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs), which are
heavily composed of Mexican, Central and South American drug
cartels, and the U.S street gangs that they employ to do their
bidding.
These cartels stage their North American enterprises in Mexico,
but run operations into the United States. Therefore, they not
only have the advantage of being in close proximity to the US
border, but they also benefit from a diverse money-making
empire that ranges from the sale of illicit narcotics and
weapons, prostitution, sex slavery and human trafficking, to
legitimate businesses that are used to generate revenue and
launder illegal proceeds.
The cartels, as they exist today, came into prominence in the
early to mid-2000s when the southern border of the United
States became divided territory assigned to specific ones. In
that, they each staked out a section of the border across which
they would run their criminal enterprises without competition or
threat from the others. The putative agreement that created this
new, formal structure only enhanced their successes. These
border areas are called “plazas” (defined areas of the border for
illicit purposes) and each cartel controls its area through

2. extreme violence. Violence is used to increase protection in the
assigned areas, and to deter those not willing to pay the bribes
necessary to operate along the border. The violence has not
been isolated to Mexico, however, and has spilled across the
border into the United States to varying degrees. This has even
manifested itself in shootouts across and well inside US
territory, to include firearms engagements with American law
enforcement.
Increasing the threat of these TCOs is a terrorist connection.
Recent intelligence is showing a growing trend of association
between these cartels and overseas terrorist organizations. The
use of the cartels’ land and sea routes of ingress into the US,
and the tunnels dug underneath the border, serve as ready
gateways for terrorists and possibly even the movement of
weapons of mass destruction.
The first step in countering these increasing threats is to
understand the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used
by these groups to conduct their operations. With the lessons
and assignments in this course, you will get a chance to analyze
the various TTPs used by the TCOs and take a studied look at
what has gone right, and what still needs to be improved.
Specifically, the paper should meet the following criteria
requirements:
Identify and define the criminal enterprise.
Identify the originating country or countries of this criminal

3. operation.
Describe the historical origins of this crime.
Identify the different transnational crime groups that
historically engaged in this enterprise, as well as those that are
prolific in it today.
Provide a short literature review of what you have learned about
this enterprise.
Provide one or more criminological theories that best describe
and explain the nature of this enterprise, and reasons for its
existence (for instance desire for illicit drugs or sex by
members of the public).
Provide a short summary of the global trends and impacts of
this crime from a global threat perspective, including where
relevant:
Society
Politics
Economy

4. Security
Formulate approaches and collaboration techniques to
ameliorate the enterprise and activities associated with it.
The paper should be four (4) to six (6) pages, double spaced,
and approximately 2,000 to 3,000 words. This does not include
title page, table of contents and source references (all of which
are required). The paper must be APA compliant, including
source references. All pages must have page numbers, as well as
an introduction and conclusion, titled as such, and main body
and sub-sections with appropriate titles. Title page must be
APA compliant, and include student’s name, program and
course, instructor name, university and date.