Is there a big difference that distinguishes a mafia family from a cartel? Or are they interchangeable?
The difference is that a crime family isn't focused only on drug trafficking but are also in the white collar crimes and every lucrative rackets;another difference would be the fact that there an induction ceremony and that (in sicily) arent used children as sicarios. And more important a sicilian crime family stay in the shadow while the Cartels are always in war each others.
I think another big factor is that the mafia considers their members as not perishable or throwaway while the cartels do think of their sicarios, halcones(informants) and drug sellers as throw away.
Speaking about the sicilian mafia,the mafiosi consider themselves as part of a secret society that live and made money in the shadow,the society have rules that even was broken under Riina reign,the old guys wanted to rebuilt it.
The tried to rebuilt the old rules: every family had its territory and is part of the province,and various provinces made the commission with a capo dei capi.
The cartels live with the violence and the terror and doesn't matter if the members live or not.
For the mafia if a man was inducted,he was untouchables without his family ok for whack him.
The cartel are more similar to the camorra clan.
