Narconomics[1] has a pretty good discussion of the economics (including recruiting) of cartels.
[1]: https://www.amazon.com/Narconomics-How-Run-Drug-Cartel/dp/16...
If you're interested in reading more into how cartels operate, I'd highly recommend the book Narconomics by Tom Wainwright - https://www.amazon.com/Narconomics-How-Run-Drug-Cartel-ebook...
Editing in an excerpt from Chapter 9: Diversifying into New Markets: “The basic option is to sneak over the frontier with a guide on foot, hoping to avoid the US Border Patrol’s sentries. For those with deeper pockets, or without the stamina to wade through rivers or cross deserts and mountains, there is a luxury option: crossing “in the line,” meaning walking up to the immigration desk with fake documents. Coyotes buy a secondhand visa, and make the client up to look like the person in the photo. A guide surreptitiously directs the migrant to whichever line is moving fastest—a sign that the person on duty is giving the documents only a cursory check. No detail is overlooked: the coyotes even put souvenirs in their clients’ bags to make them look like day-trippers.”
Excerpt From: Tom Wainwright. “Narconomics.” iBooks.
It is a fantastic read, going deep into the reasons why drugs are profitable and how cartels are just like any other business with challenges like cash flow, human resources, motivation, competitors, etc.
Key (and well argued) takeaway at the end of the book is that making ALL illegal drugs legal (and taxed and regulated) would bring immense relief to the levels of organized crime worldwide, huge benefits to the budgets, at the cost of maybe slightly more people in society who will kill themselves with said drugs,
Check it out in your local library https://www.amazon.com/Narconomics-How-Run-Drug-Cartel/dp/16...