Aiming to contribute to the existing theory on transnational organized crime and the review of international drug policy, this study analyzes criminal governance through the controlled comparison of two drug trafficking organizations, the Zetas Cartel in México and The Gulf Clan in Colombia. The study seeks to find the reasons that explain the differences in criminal governance between both organizations, despite their similarities in many aspects. The investigation shows that the variation can be explained either by strategical reasons, such as the production of illicit goods, or by social reasons, such as the local embeddedness of the criminal organizations.
