Cartel Land

This is a good documentary. It shows a good picture of what is going on, more or less, between Mexico's and the United States' drug wars. Someone commented on a review that "these drug wars are never going to end, and only the people change." I will have to agree with the statement. I personally believe that as long as there is a demand for drugs that the drug-trade will never end; this includes controlled substances and those deemed illegal. Also, where and when a country is rid of either producing or buying the drugs, it is another business opportunity for another country to either supply or demand. It's a never ending story to the drug problem.I think that a good model of a country that has somewhat of a control of the drug trade is Amsterdam. Although I don't support drug use, I am also a realist, and I know that drugs will never go away and that is why I think that Amsterdam is a place that has become tolerant of those that choose out of their own free will to use drugs, and their government system tries their best to educate people with the pros and cons of using and abusing drugs.But again, it's a difficult topic to address and find solutions to.I wish that this film would of have had provided more facts on the money trails behind the drugs and those people responsible for the drugs too.

Mexico is a beautiful country but it has its problems as duplicate in this film!

Great show

The sad fact is illegal immigration hurts this Country and cost us billions a year at a time when our border the worse we ever seen and during a pandemic shows how our government needs get tougher on illegal immigration .These cartels wouldn't be so powerful if, illegals would stop paying them for trafficating their own kids even .They are literally rent out kids to help people abuse the system and border .Human trafficking has become a billion dollar business & they find it easy especially the shape our border in now it's like a free for all to come in .If,we don't crack down on illegal immigration it will only get worse .The illegals have made cartels rich by paying them to help them abuse our border. Now we got the worse invasion we ever seen on our Country which is making these Cartels even more powerful. Our government should be making e verify mandatory & stricter laws on jumping the border .No Country allows this abuse sometimes makes you wonder who in the pocket of the Cartels on this side too

good perspective of people and root issues concerning our southern border.. Mireles looks like a modern superhero in this movie, but anyone who knows recent history knows that seemingly any person who tries to stand up for justice in mexico ends up getting taken down.. the part of the show when the farm workers are all killed because the farm owner owed some protection money to the cartels was absolutely gut wrenching. the footage of them catching a couple of two that raped and killed some of them was incredible. crazier than any reality television show I have ever seen.. my heart goes out to the good families of mexico. they get paid $0.72 an hour at legit US manufacturing jobs (on their side of the border of course) or risk their lives crossing the border for $4 cash working illegally on construction or landscaping.

Very real and to me was sad. The HD is quite impressive to see it in. Was so scary in so many ways all the infighting and trying to see a definitive dividing line of these are the good people and these are the not so good people was confusing at best. Really cannot imagine that much chaos in a modern day society? It needed to be shown and realize they did not show everything for the better. I recommend people see it for the educational aspect as to not be jaded on the topic of immigration and drugs moving back and fourth across the border. Was so shocked at what I thought I knew versus this film. A real eye opener that one could only hope make some kind of positive change for their countries value system towards their fellow man, women, children in the country.

This documentary is about Mexico and cartels, but it is also about vigilantism in general. Is it OK to take the law into your own hands? Does this freedom corrupt? The documentary explores two (related) instances of vigilantism, and it does so in a critical, but nuanced way. It reflects upon the motives of the people involved, and their situation. This exploration is what really makes this documentary great. It throws some light on the situation in Mexico in a way that is both thrilling and heartbreaking - but by focusing on the acts of the vigilantes, the documentary becomes timeless.The people behind this went to great lengths to get some really(!) impressive footage. How they convinced people involved to let them film all of this is beyond me.

This movie is horrifying and authentic. A first hand, non-abstract, ground level look at what the southern hemisphere is trying to export to the northern by brute force. Life run by a one-party coalition of corrupt government and lawless vice cartels. How this kind of stuff doesn't make it past the Kardashians in our nation's media platforms is beyond me, but at least it's here on Amazon to view. These journalists could have been killed making this. Simply amazing! My only negative about the movie is that it seems to have an attitude of "Welp, it's never going to change. Nothing we can do." I disagree. I think there's a lot we can do about turning tyranny and poverty around. It starts with you filmmakers and journalists and your powerful images and editing tools. Stop being such lefties and wake up. Anyway, great movie. Had fun. Going to purchase another rifle now.

If you have read books on the Mexican drug cartels (especially "El Narco" by Ioan Grillo) or seen the many dramatisations of the drug wars on TV, you would probably feel you have a pretty good understanding of what it all entails. This film however looks at a side of the conflicts which avoids showing the Cartels in action though there is some footage showing how easy it is for the Cartels to manufacture the drugs needed by USA customers that fuels this situation.Instead the director/cinematographer/editor Matthew Heineman embedded himself in two different vigilante groups eachr side of the USA/Mexico border spending months gaining the confidence of each group and then filming them in their activities. The depiction of the Arizona group under the ex-soldier Nailer and his group of armed para military (ex-military and militants) who have moved to the area to do something about the problem. Yet the film depicts the difficulty of policing a land border with no physical barriers to crossing and the failure of the border wall that Trump promoted. One suspects Nailer's group is mainly an irritant to the cartels given the area being policed is known as "Cocaine Alley"and valuable to them , the one capture shown that they make being of illegal immigrant workers. As admitted in the Special Feature video with producer Kathryn Bigelow, the near absence of the US Border Patrol in the film does not however mean there is not close co-operation between the lawmakers and the vigilantes with their knowledge of illegal cross border movements.The second group on the Mexican side is in the state of Michoacan located some distance from the border where a grass roots vigilante group led by a local doctor started to arm themselves and slowly take villages and towns back from the drug cartels who effectively controlled all local operations. The early stages shown are the vigilantes town by town engaging in gun battles with the local cartel leaders, who when captured are handed over to the Mexican police. With their growing success, comes the inherent conflicts in this scenario. Firstly the military and police try to exercise and re-exert power by getting the group to lay down their arms after seeing they are doing a better job than themselves in the eyes of the local populace. When this fails, the political elite threaten and move to outlaw the vigilantes which is what ultimately divides them with some becoming part of the government forces and the others being arrested. At the ground level with some of the group enjoying their new power, they start to become as dictatorial as the cartels before them. The doctor after suffering a bad plane accident which limits his mobility and involvement is arrested and imprisoned.With indications the cartels are infiltrating the vigilantes and the political elite have connections with the cartels, the close of the film seems to show that with an insatiable demand from the USA for drugs the power of the cartels will not be easily broken.Not an easy watch, the film's key strengths are to cover at a local level in the two groups the frustration of locals and then how their well meaning efforts are either ignored or thwarted by either the cartels or legal authorities with no seeming way out of the impasse.

A remarkable documentary on the impact of the drug cartels on America and Mexico. The Americans belonging to an Arizona Border Patrol are rarely seen doing anything apart from discussing the situation (perhaps wisely they keep their activities off camera). Down in Michoacán (on the Pacific coast) local communities under a charismatic leader take on the local Knights Templar Cartel. However, in arming themselves they attract the attention of the Mexican government, of other cartel groups who join up to provide muscle for the attack on the Templars, and of people who just like to bully their own neighbours. There are lots of firefights with the Autodefencas rushing around in large numbers firing, and a number of supposed cartel members vanishing. There is a particularly poignant end and a commentary from a meth cook that puts the whole issue in context. The Government does not come out well - though I'm not sure anyone does.

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Incredible access by the film maker means this documentary is as unique as it is unflinching. At times it is harrowing how comunities on both sides of the border are being decimated by the Cartel's ruthless push to control the drug trade.Then there are the micro-battles to control the Mexican 'peoples resistance' which left me speechless. Just one of several moments that left me gobsmacked.Watch Sicaro then get the real story unfiltered and as it happens in this great observational docco. It earns every star.

Great story / viewing