In the ongoing Mexican drug war, drug cartels may often use propaganda through various methods to manipulate and persuade people— usually to shift public opinion to a more favorable view of them. Such methods include scare tactics and use of the media. These cartels’ use of propaganda are often used in precise ways in order to maximize the impact and effect on others.

The cartels have adopted the word "narco" to pertain to anything relating to the cartels, and it has spread to be a part of everyday Mexican slang. Narcocultura is the criminal culture of the drug cartels. There are music, television shows, literature, beverages, food, and architecture that all have been branded "narco". Narcocorridos are Mexican country songs glorifying the lifestyles of drug lords. They are typically produced by artists working with or being paid by Mexican drug lords. Cartels hang narco-banners up around cities to advertise themselves and threaten rival cartels. They also distribute narco-flyers, used for the same purposes as the narco-banners, by handing them out to people, scattering and posting them around cities, and leaving them near the bodies of homicide victims. A brand of beer, Malverde Beer, was named after a Mexican folklore character revered by drug traffickers, and the patron saint of drug trafficking.

The drug cartels' use of propaganda through new media has increased significantly as the primary source of connection with the people. It is seen as a war tactic against the Mexican government, taking its people and putting them against themselves. Many times cartels use bribery or threats against journalists and publications to report the cartels in a good light. They also bribe or threaten members of the local law enforcement to look the other way when drug trafficking crimes are committed. Blog del Narco was a blog that reported the true violence and nature of the drug war and drug cartels. It would report news often censored from other publications. It was shut down by the government after threats were made by cartels in the form of a message left on the bodies of two unidentified homicide victims.

There is activism against the influence of the drug cartels. Local police and the country's military work actively to prevent drug trafficking, discouraging recruits into drug cartels.

Propaganda The drug war has become rich with examples of propaganda and other means of psychological warfare. Cartels use high impact, often dramatic communication methods to threaten opponents, announce new policies, and, most importantly, to seek grassroot support. Through fear mongering, they have established themselves as dangerous to those who speak out against them. They provide simple public services to citizens and act as protectors from the government while covering their true motives. Deceased drug gangsters have often been honored with tombs of ivory with elaborate paintings to illustrate their contribution and alliance to a particular cartel.

Cartels have seeped into everyday life as civilians pass by walls of graffiti and road signs with digital media employing cartel public relations. There is now a "narco" vocabulary describing cartel related music, literature, and daily television shows. In addition, there are narcocastillos (castles) and even narcocerveza (beer). One particular brewery in Guadalajara created Malverde Beer, which was named after the patron saint of drug traffickers, Jesús Malverde. Smugglers (or mules) have been known to carry a picture of the saint with them during their operations. Although the Mexican brewery stated it was not meant to glamorize cartels, many have criticized it and Walmarts in Mexico refuse to distribute it.Hawley, Chris. “Beer's Outlaw Image Leaves Bad Taste in Critics’ Mouths.” USAtoday, September 3, 2008. https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-09-03-narcobeer_N.htm. Some of the narcoliterature include books such as "El Amante de Janis Joplin", and "Nostalgia de la Sobra." Also, there are narcomantas (e.g. threats or explanations of criminal activity, left on a cloth banner), narcoblockades, narcomanifestaciones (demonstrations) and narcocorridos.

Music Narcocorridos Narcocorridos are a type of music that glamourizes the lifestyle of drug lords. It is country style music usually including instruments such as tubas and accordions. The music and music videos are widely popular. The music video, El Movimiento alterado, describing the Sinaloa cartel's drug violence, received three million hits on YouTube.

Sample lyrics:

The group Los Tucanes de Tijuana has now been banned from the city of Tijuana for having a close relationship with a drug cartel. Their songs contain lyrics such as:

In a song titled, "La Familia Michoacana" lyrics are as follows:

Examples of narcocorridos from artist Mario "El Chachorro" Delgado include:

The song titled, "El Mercenario", have the following lyrics:

These are a few examples of the narco-corridos.

Narco Hip-Hop A music scene, similar to the early underground gangsta rap scene, has emerged in northeastern Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Coahuila), where the musical phenomenon of hip-hop is being co-opted by the influence of organized crime and the drug war in the region.

With lyrics similar to those of a narcocorrido (drug ballad), has appeared the Mexican Narco-rap.

However, unlike the corridos, which relate to rural regions of the Mexican Pacific (and which are generally linked to the Sinaloa Cartel) the narco-rap emerged in the urban area of Tamaulipas, in the border with Texas, a turf currently under armed dispute between Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel.

Derived from the constant presence of "halcones" ("hawks", cartel spies) and cartel-convoys circulating the streets of the region, young people have been involved in the local narcoculture, and narco-raps express the reality of life on the streets of those cities under the drug cartels rule.

There are several notable cases, among them is a song called "The Song of Metro 3" that praises the life and exploits of drug lord Samuel Flores Borrego (alias Metro 3) for his "ferocity and loyalty".

Some of the main exponents of the genre are Cano y Blunt, DemenT and Big Los.

Other media The drug cartels have been successful at influencing and manipulating the information environment by issuing their own press releases, controlling the content released about them and violence associated, and threatening journalists. They have managed to control who their audiences are, how they are perceived to them, and ultimately their actions or omission of actions. For example, cartels have historically purchased newspapers to publish articles written by cartel-recruited reporters.Sullivan, John. "Cartel Info Ops: Power and Counter-power in Mexico's Drug War". www.MountainRunner.us, November 15, 2010. http://mountainrunner.us/2010/11/cartel_info_ops_power_and_counter-power_in_mexico_drug_war/. In addition to influencing indigenous reporting, United States' reporters have stopped covering the drug war and cartel violence as well. U.S. news directors and editors discourage their reporters to cover certain drug related stories.Fleming, Gary "Rusty". Drug Wars: Narco Warfare in the 21st Century. BookSurge Publishing, 2008Martinez-Amador, David. “The ‘Zeta Killers’ and the Rise of Narco-Horror.” Insightcrime.org, September 29, 2011. http://www.insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/1641-the-zeta-killers-and-the-rise-of-narco-horror.

The cartels have had to adjust to the challenges in dominating the information environment in a time when the internet and advanced computer networks have been used against them. Some cartels have "hired operational security specialist (narcohackers) to cope with the enhanced digital surveillance of their activities."Sullivan, John, and Adam Elkus. “Mexican Drug Lords Vs. Cybervigilantes and the Social Media.” Mexidata.info, March 5, 2012. http://www.mexidata.info/id3288.html. As websites or social media have attempted to shine light on their activities, the cartels respond by threatening execution found on their social post or tweets. They also have been using websites to spread disinformation about their rivals and government officials.

Propaganda by cartel Juárez Cartel

Narcomantas were placed attempting to antagonize U.S. government agencies around Juarez. The threats included using vehicle IEDs against the U.S. consulates which would be carried out by La Linea, Juárez's cartel enforcer group. However, it is possible "that a rival group deliberately misattributed these threats to La Linea in an effort to incite U.S. reprisal"."Mexico Security Memo: A New Juarez Cartel". Stratfor, January 1, 2012. http://stratfor.com/analysis/mexico-security-memo-new-juarez-cartel.

Knights Templar

The Knights Templar cartel cast themselves as defenders of the people,"Drug Gang Unveils Banners in Mexico Ahead of Pope Visit". Associated Press, February 7, 2012. https://www.foxnews.com/world/drug-gang-unveils-banners-in-mexico-ahead-of-pope-visit. blaming federal and local authorities for drug violence casualties because of their lack of protection for the citizens especially from Knights Templar's rival, Los Zetas.

They said "they would stand down its own operations if the government secured the state; so the government could no longer use it as a pretext for abusing residents". When the pope went to visit in 2011, the Knights Templar made hand painted, cloth narcobanners asking the violence to cease while he visited.

Knights Templar propaganda maintains a soft tone to civilians, however, when they murder gang rivals, they use a much more aggressive approach. Right before the Pope was scheduled his 2011 visit, eight people were found killed with narcomantas placed upon them warning rivals to stay out of their territory while the Pope was visiting."Mexico Security Memo: Increased Violence Likely in Guanajuato". Stratfor, February 22, 2012. http://stratfor.com/analysis/mexico-security-memo-increased-violence-likely-guanajuato.

Los Zetas

Los Zetas have used the Internet and media to spread most of their propaganda and to glorify their lifestyle. There have been numerous YouTube videos of assassinations, torture scenes, and interrogations. Although these posts are quickly taken down, most of them are likely to have been seen and reposted somewhere else. When they discover individuals, blogs, or media speaking out against them on the Internet, they retaliate with violence. In September 2011, two people were found hanging from a bridge alongside a large narcomanta with the words "Internet Snitches" written on it. The banner was addressed to two particular blog sites that were being used to report uncensored stories about cartel violence.Pachico, Elyssa. "Mexican Drug War Blog Hit by Govt Intervention" Insightcrime.org, October 21, 2011. http://insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/1764-mexican-drug-war-blog-hit-by-govt-intervention. In addition, the administrator of the chat site, Nuevo Laredo en Vivo, which is used to share safety and security information, was killed and decapitated.