Drug Cartels And The United States

The problem of drugs coming over into the United States from Mexico is not new, but it is serious and in spite of many efforts by American law enforcement and border authorities, it continues day after day. This paper reviews the problem from several perspectives and brings to light attempts the U.S. has made to stop drug trafficking on our border with Mexico. The biggest issue regarding border security is the power of the drug cartels, and the majority of emphasis in this paper is directed towards the cartels.

There are seven drug cartels in Mexico (CRS 1). The most important cartels are Sinaloa and Juarez. The Sinaloa cartel operates in the states of Nayarit, Sinaloa and Mexico State (Reforma 1). The Juarez cartel operates in Sinaloa, Nuevo León, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Morelos; and Quintana Roo. Mexican cartels employ individuals and groups of enforcers, known as sicarios. Statistics show that more than twenty people are killed daily in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua in crimes related to drugs. Drug lords send their gunmen to strategic places where innocent people that are in the wrong place at the wrong time are killed. Narco Lords like Vicente Carrillo Fuentes and Joaquin el Chapo Guzman, fight among themselves for the

The United States agency of drugs have discovered that for all of the illegal drugs consumed in the nation has been transported by the Mexican cartels. “U.S. federal officials say that the mexican cartels operate in dozens of U.S. cities and analysts say they are moving to consolidate their control of the entire supply chain of illegals drugs”(Schwartz, 1). The government of the United States have been conducting the investigation to now if the cartels are north. Many big cities today have a piece of the cartel organization working there and also producing drugs to distribute within the city. According to the investigation done by the DEA and U.N officials “Mexican cartels have established command - and - control centers to orchestrate cocaine shipments by sea and air along the still wild caribbean coast with the help of local authorities”(Booth, 2). All though that the cartel are moving to the United States they are still leaving command center in mexico to conduct shipments by ground or any other shipments overseas. The cartel is able to transport such quantities of drugs with help of the local authorities and other corrupt government officials.

Here lies a stale lifeless body after a drug cartel raids a small town, just south of the Texas border. In December of 2006 and still ongoing, the Mexican Drug War has resulted in the death of tens of thousands of individuals. Mexico believes that in order to put an end to the Drug Wars, America needs to control its need for drugs. The first call to action involves new policies and restrictions on the exports and imports of drugs in between the United States and Mexico.

Mexican Drug Cartels have been a problem for many years. The cartels are an organized crime organization and they don’t just deal drugs; they commit murders too. The Cartels origins are traced back to the Columbian Cali and Medellin mega-cartels who were responsible for the majority of drug trafficking into the United States. Crime has existed for many years but it surfaced more when Pablo Escobar was popular. Pablo Escobar was one the main transporters for cocaine throughout Mexico and the United States coming straight out of Columbia. Law enforcement tried to stop the drug trade but Escobar formed a relationship with Mexico-based traffickers who smuggled drugs into the United States. Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo also known as “The Godfather” of the cartels. Seeing how he established the Guadalajara Cartel, which is recognized as the first Mexican Cartel, and were the first to link up with Escobar and started the transportation of cocaine

The United States have declared that it is doing its best to combat the war on drugs. The drug problem has not stopped and the people continue to buy drugs no matter what circumstances they are obtained. With drugs prices rising, people are willing do anything to get drugs even if it leads them to become involved in criminal activities such as robbery. The money and military activity have not been enough, and the “urban problem,” has not been resolved. The United States has the largest demand of drugs in the world. While other countries also face the drug problem, the United States has spent the most money and law enforcement; however, its effectiveness is questionable. Consequently, now there is a great amount of drugs coming from Mexico’s borderline into the United States. The drug cartels have become more violent, killing Mexican officers and innocent people in order to smuggle their drugs. The United States needs more security control and better coordination between agencies to fight the violent Mexican drug war spilling across the southern border. There is not enough organization between the D.E.A and other groups such as the Department of Homeland Security. The United States has little hope of winning the war unless enough protection on the border and Border States are developed. The agencies need better coordination between the federal, state and locals agencies in order to prevent more drugs to cross

Everyone is aware of the ongoing drug war between American border patrol agents who wish to fulfil their duty which is to defend the border and Mexican cartels who seek only to expand their narcotic empire at the United States and Mexican border. The Mexican cartels are often times defined as ruthless outlaws who infiltrate and distribute narcotics into the United States in order to maintain high prices and eliminate competition. Their methods are immoral and executed with ease because of their access to heavy artillery. As a result, “Since 2006 more than 40,000 lives have been taken via mass graves, beheadings, and kidnappings” (Newsmax 2). Fear is at the core of the Mexican government leading to corruption installed by the cartels. The corruption is to a degree to which there is no help for the victims or the families that have been victimized unless America steps in to help end the cartel’s reign. Drug culture created by the cartels is increasingly polluting American citizens, especially those vulnerable to the influence in border cities. The cartels are expanding their power to a degree where it can be alarming to the national security of the U.S. Therefore, the U.S. will be able to decrease crime at the border by increasing its security, and by helping the Mexican government regain stability in the country which will ultimately minimize cartel expansion.

Drug trafficking has plagued the U.S. and Mexican border for many years.  The lack of cooperation between the U.S. and Mexican government has allowed millions of dollars worth of drugs to be smuggled over the border. However, recently the Mexican government extradited thirteen prisoners to the U.S showing it realizes that it can’t stop the drug problem on its own. One of the many factors that led the Mexican government to start extraditing was the escape of Mr. Guzman. This event embarrassed the Mexican government as it showed their inability to keep powerful drug traffickers contained. The sad truth is that the demand for drugs will always be present and people will always be able to supply them. Though governments try to enforce drug laws nationally, they can really only restrict the flow of drugs across the border. When Cormac McCarthy wrote the book No Country for Old Men, he tried to capture the brutality of the drug world, and the effect it can have.

They are mostly situated near the northern, west coast, east coast, and southern border regions. The Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Cartel are two main examples of this. They have set up and taken over trafficking cocaine produced in Colombia and exporting it to the rest of the world. However, what makes Mexico unique from Colombia is that there is an ongoing constant struggle for power between rival cartels. Over time one weakens, and another topples it, effectively taking over the business and becoming the next major enemy of the state. Currently, there are about 7 major cartels that include; Los Zetas, La Familia, Juarez Cartel, Tijuana Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, and the Knights Templar. This staggering number of Cartels all within close proximity of one another, creates an environment hostile to everyone that resides or finds themselves in these heavily contested areas. These include, but are not limited to innocent civilians, tourists, to politicians and even police officers. Certain cartels have different values, targeting specific people and willing to do certain things to express and convey a message in order to gain the attention that they crave.

The most activity that these cartels do is around the United States and Mexican border by transporting illegal substances and even people and putting many people in danger not just in Mexico but in the United States. But also the economy is being hurt because the United States losing about one point six million dollars annually to these cartels contributing to smuggling and the U.S is number drug using country all around the world. While more and more smuggling is happening cartel kingpin for example Joaquin Guzman is getting more powerful and being the number one supplier to Chicago that most of these narcotics are being distributed. Statistics of that came from the DEA reports that cartel presence in the United States cities are getting bigger from the years of two-thousand-eight to twenty-eleven climbing the scale to twelve hundred on the number of reports from American communities that suspected narcotics presence. Making the struggle to make communities more secure but organizations that are not affiliated to the government are helping to get rid all this problematic situations with cartels such as the Chicago Crime

Strategies mean nothing in the war on Mexican cartels if the U.S. Government does not get to the root of the issue. As long as there is a demand for drugs in the United States, the cartels will find a way around any security measure. Border protection agents are seeing a steep decline in the trafficking of marijuana since the U.S. legalized the drug. Many think that ending prohibition of illicit drugs is the answer. Right now, America is not winning the war on drugs. The cost involved with prohibition is exuberant; over $50 billion spent in the war on drugs, which is a massive economic blunder (United States Department of Homeland Security, 2017). The focus should be a combination of prevention through education and cessation programs. To eliminate the demand, make the supply readily available on a legally-regulated market. This would curtail to the cartel market because the U.S. would allow production on U.S. soil. In the simplest terms, criminalizing drugs puts money back into the hands of the cartels while

According to Fox News, their current leader, Alejandro Trevino-Morales, also known as “Omar” and “42,” was captured and arrested in March of 2015 this year (2015). The Zetas are a sophisticated, three-tiered organization with leaders and middlemen who coordinate contracts with criminals to carryout petty street work (Vaughne, 2010, 35). The original Zetas form the top level in the organization and are concerned with major drug-trafficking routes while operatives below them are involved in money laundering, smuggling/distribution, arms procurement, enforcement, and even intelligence gathering (Brands, 2009). Zetas have a centralized structure and are reportedly divided into cells that take direction from the central command without much knowledge of the activities of the other cells (Brands, 2009). This stance helps protect the security of their organization and limits liability from within the group. Clearly, Zetas are drawing from their past counternarcotics experience gained through the Mexican Army to keep their affairs compartmentalized for the greater protection of the

All over the southwest U.S there have been drug cartels which smuggle drugs and weapons from country to country illegally. More recently

The government has made some gains, but at a heavy price. A total of 34,612 people have died in drug-related killings in Mexico in the first four years (Siddique). Most of these killing are between cartel rivals fighting for the control of territories. There are five cartels operating in Mexico: the Sinaloa, the Gulf, Juarez, Tijuana, the Zetas. The major cartels are the Gulf, Sinaloa and Juarez (Cook 21). Many of these cartels have joined together forming powerful alliances known as the “Federation” (Cook 17). The cartels work together, but they remain independent organizations.

Drug cartels have grown and expanded throughout the interior and exterior of states for many years. The way drugs started to be introduced to Mexico, Colombia, and other places around the world was believed to be a myth. It was a tale that was known by many through storytelling, which over the years turned into an actual realistic issue. One of the most known cartels that existed for a long time was The Medellin Cartel. It became a subculture of its own, creating a world full of violence, women, money, firearms, death but most importantly power and fear. Located in Colombia this brutal subculture will show how they become one of the wealthiest subculture in the world surpassing even its own country’s riches.