What Donald Trump Has in Common with the Most Notorious Mexican Drug Cartels
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty
Donald Trump has not held back this election cycle when it comes to speaking his mind about the non-white population of the US. He’s recently stated that a judge could not be impartial regarding the lawsuit Trump is embroiled in over Trump University (it’s not a university), and he famously kicked off his election campaign in startling fashion by calling Mexican immigrants rapists. These are just two of the many prominent and offensive things Trump has said in his campaign…but it’s fine because he eats taco bowls, right?
Ironically, while Donald Trump has held up Mexican drug cartels as something Americans have to be protected against—and justification for his infamous wall—he and the cartels have a couple of things in common. Primarily, their business practices.
In the documentary Cartel Land, there is a scene that lays out the first similarity—naming rights. In essence, this is the licensing of their respective names to different organizations. Cartels, in their search to expand their business models, have taken to leasing their names to various local gangs as long as these gangs give them a portion of their earnings. The cartels even will provide the gang with “merchandise” such as hats or shirts that bear the cartels insignia so that gangs can posture as part of the cartel. This is beneficial for these gangs because it lessens the chances other gangs may attack them or try to move in on their turf.
Trump’s few successes in business have primarily come from just being born in wealth, but the secondary reason is leasing out his name. There are many instances where this branding is his only involvement in a project, as opposed to the building of the actual structure. As Bloomberg reported earlier this year:
“…An examination of his operations abroad reveals that, while he has made many millions selling his name, he has chosen a number of inexperienced — even questionable — partners, sometimes infuriated buyers and associates and moved late into saturated markets, producing less income than advertised.
A number of naming-rights deals over the past decade have involved investors paying him multimillion-dollar sums, sometimes with a percentage of condo sales or a management fee to run hotel operations. In some places, such as the Philippines, there are strong early sales with projects due to be completed in the next few years. But others have gone far less well, descending into legal conflicts amid claims of broken promises and empty apartments.”