NPR.

This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Adrienne Ma.

And I'm Whalen Wong.

In May of this year, along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, federal law enforcement officials chased

on a vehicle that tried to flee a highway checkpoint. When police searched the car, they found

crack cocaine, marijuana, and five capybara's. Bet you didn't see that coming. No. I mean,

think of a 170-pound guinea pig with partially webbed feet. And these things are kind of social media

famous for being cute. And they're also part of a growing illegal exotic animal trade.

Costa Rican authorities said this seizure was the country's first recorded case of

Kapibara trafficking. Wildlife trafficking is a business that is increasingly intersecting with the illicit drug trade

as cartels diversify their operations. The result is something called narco-degradation. This

refers to environmental harm caused by the illegal trade in cocaine and other drugs.

This week on The Indicator, we're bringing you a special series on the evolving

business of crime. On today's show, we look at what's driving cartels to expand into areas

beyond drugs and how this is wreaking havoc on ecosystems in Central America.

This message comes from The Economist, introducing The Economist Insider, a new video offering, providing unprecedented access to the Economist journalists.

Twice Weekly shows will feature in-depth debates and discussions with the Economist senior editors as they share expertise and analysis to make sense of an increasingly complex and dangerous world.

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American demand for cocaine and fentanyl has driven the transnational drug trade to new levels.

Within that industry, Mexican cartels are among the top traffickers of cocaine into the U.S.

And they're some of the biggest producers of synthetic drugs like fentanyl.

That accounted for around 60% of overdose deaths in the U.S. last year.

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