Although groups with different styles and degrees of radicalism were active at that time, they were united by socialist dogmas. Their funds came from the Soviet empire and from kidnappings that sometimes received logistic support from foreign embassies. Determination, infiltration, and delegitimization were key ingredients for a victory, which, as with any violent conflict, produced many innocent victims. Defunding the enemy, essential for triumph, took place gradually through wins on other fronts.

        Narcoterrorists present different challenges than socialist-inspired terrorism, or "socioterrorism." Groups involved in drug trafficking as a means of financing their insurgency have access to very diverse supply lines. They operate in areas where government control is weak and have channels to territories under weak control by other governments. So even when a nation is determined to embark on an all-out battle, victory is still elusive.

        Infiltration is more essential in unconventional than conventional warfare. Guts, honor, and glory are major motivators for those infiltrating ideological enemies. Guts and money are sometimes enough for finding people willing to infiltrate narcoterrorists. Infiltration increases the demands on the intelligence community and works both ways. The structure of the illegal drug trade might also act as an antidote for the ultimate victory of narcoterrorism. Major profit centers will never allow their total victory.