Hidden Drivers of Violence Diffusion: Evidence from Illegal Oil Siphoning in Mexico

88 Pages Posted: 25 Oct 2019 Last revised: 6 Jan 2021

Date Written: October 16, 2019

Abstract

This paper develops a model of spatial violence diffusion when criminal organizations specialized in one illegal activity (e.g., drug trafficking) are attacked by security forces and tests its theoretical implications using the wave of violence triggered by the Mexican War on Drugs. The model predicts that violence will spread to locations with strategic value for other illegal activities (e.g., oil siphoning). We find evidence supporting this prediction. We document that the Mexican War on Drugs induced drug trafficking organizations to begin stealing oil from the Mexican oil pipeline network and this portfolio reallocation of illegal activities affected the spatial diffusion of violence. We show that violence escalated in locations in the oil pipeline network with no strategic value for drug trafficking. Furthermore, we find that violence escalated more in isolated branches of the oil pipeline network, which are more complicated to protect by the authorities, rendering them susceptible to the establishment of criminal monopolies.

Keywords: D74, K42, R12

JEL Classification: crime, violence diffusion, war on drugs

Suggested Citation

Lopez Cruz, Ivan and Torrens, Gustavo, Hidden Drivers of Violence Diffusion: Evidence from Illegal Oil Siphoning in Mexico (October 16, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3470787 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3470787

Ivan Lopez Cruz

Sabanci University ( email )

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Orhanli
Istanbul, 34956
Turkey
216 483 9337 (Phone)

Gustavo Torrens (Contact Author)

Indiana university ( email )

Wylie Hall, 100 S Woodland Ave
Bloomington, IN 47405-7104
United States
8128568131 (Phone)
47405-7104 (Fax)

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