Mexico's economy shrank by nine percent in 2020, the deepest recession in the country since 1932. Millions of Mexicans have fallen into poverty and government support packages are criticized for being deficient.

The Mexican cartels have taken advantage of the situation and staged their own social efforts in which they distributed food and supplies in poor areas.

Most recently in connection with the Christmas weekend.

And as poverty and unemployment spread, it will also be easier for organized crime to recruit new members.

SVT has visited a school in the state of Sinaloa where drug money finances teaching during the pandemic.

And that the money comes from just criminals is not something that is rumored.

- They come from the drug trade, says teacher Esmeralda Quiñonez.

Corona adapted smuggling

When covid-19 struck, many people thought it would make life difficult for organized crime.

The Mexican drug cartels that dominate the global drug trade depend on open borders and flows of people and goods to be able to manufacture, smuggle and sell their products.

But even though the cartels initially had problems, they have once again proved to be very skilled at adapting to a changing world.

The UN confirms in its latest global drug report that the effects of the pandemic on the drug trade were less than expected.

The cartels are loosely organized networks that can quickly change their way of working if required.

The Mexican cartels, which typically smuggle illegal drugs into the world's largest market in the United States via border crossings, have increased their use of tunnels below the border and routes at sea.

Drones with drugs

US authorities also report that drones have become more common in the transport of drugs.

And the Mexican cartels have also strengthened their presence in Europe and the United States in order to produce the drugs on the spot.

In Mexico, the spiral of violence has continued despite the population's freedom of movement being restricted during the pandemic.

Although the statistics for 2020 are not entirely clear, it is clear that the year was one of the most violent in the country's modern history with an average of almost 100 murders per day.

See more in the clip above.