Mexican Drug Trade

Drug trafficking in Mexico has been a political and social issue over the past 30 or so years. Narcotics such as cocaine, heroin, methanphetamines, marijuana, as well as firearms are all being moved across the border of Mexico into the United States. In response to the illegal activity, both Mexican and American governments have started a war on drugs. The war on drugs is considered a “killing machine” by the International Socialist Review (ISR). The ISR provides statistics that, since 2009 and up to 2013, there had been almost 70,000 confirmed deaths that are related

Mexico’s violence on drugs is constantly ongoing. Its imposes a security threat to the United States and threatens the stability of the Mexican state. Drug trafficking is not the only issue of mutual interest between the United States and Mexico but Mexico is the third most largest and important source of oil which has been dropping since 2005 (New York Times, Hanson, 2008). Violence is a major problem when it comes to its drug cartels. They have tried to double their police force to make sure military forces from involving themselves in the drug movement. Consumers have become very upset at the quality of the drugs they are receiving so that increases the violence. Due to the drug violence increasing so much that kids cannot play in their neighborhood due to fear and intimidation. It’s not a safe environment for their citizens

At first, Mexican drug cartels were structured just like family owned businesses. There would be a family member who was the main drug lord and cousins and uncles of the family would be the body guards and drug dealers. After the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) lost their power within the Mexican government the structure of drug cartels became much more complex. A hierarchical diffusion is seen within the drug cartel system because the drugs spread from one important drug lord to another, and we generally see this happening in the urban part of Mexico, more than in the rural areas. A corporate structure began forming as hierarchies began developing under drug lords and more people got involved. Professor Guillermo Trejo of Notre Dame 's Kellogg Institute claims that once the PRI lost their power there was a rapid increase in violence. This is because of Mexico’s former President, Felipe Calderón, who politically associates with the National Action Party (PAN). In 2006 President Calderón declared war on the drug cartels. This milestone triggered a huge change within Mexico’s international relations, government, and culture.

A journal article written by Luis Astorga and David A. Shirk, dives head first into the Mexican

Due to drugs-related gang violence since 2006, when Mexican President Felipe Calderón entered office, more than 100,000 people have been killed (CNN Library, 2017). Among the major Mexican cartels - Los Zetas Cartel, Gulf Cartel, La and La Familia Michoacana, the Sinaloa Cartel is the most dominant drug trafficking organization in Mexico with an increasing presence in the United States. Roughly 80% of illegal substances like heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana are supplied by the Sinaloa Cartel (Woody, 2016). There have been several attempts of increased pressure from both the U.S. and Mexican governments to disrupt drug trafficking organizations and this has led to significant instability and violence escalating into a national security crisis.

After reading Mexico’s Illicit Drug Networks and the State Reaction, I have concluded that this short read is highly informative and intriguing. I personally was drawn in by the horrific stories of violence, kidnapping, and mass murders of deadly encounters, and fascinated by learning how the state planned and responded. Author Nathan Jones, is able to illustrate why Mexican drug cartels have been able to prolong existence while under attack by Mexico and the United States. He is able to do so by examining and comparing two types of illicit drug networks and how they provoke different state reactions based on their business strategy. Jones relates his discoveries to the Arellano Felix Organization because “it was one of the first Mexican cartel to be targeted by the state and split along trafficking-oriented and territorial lines [where] one survived and one did not” (p. 12). This read is significant because it allows for the government to better distinguish between drug networks that will withstand the test of time, and those that will crumble under pressure. Jones utilizes his findings and applied it to the novel, and the current drug prohibition program.

The War on Drugs has devastated Mexico’s socio-economic infrastructure while failing to stop the manufacturing and trafficking of drugs, both domestically and internationally.

Mexico’s war on drugs was officially decreed by then President Felipe Calderon, but has existed in some form since long before that. In the 1920s a law was drafted that deemed drugs and drug trafficking to be of the highest priority for national security. Throughout time, Mexico has a history of very strict drug enforcement laws, stemming from the issue being one of national security. Strangely enough, before 2006, when the war on drugs was formally declared, Mexico as well as other Latin American countries were having less trouble with drugs as a threat to national stability than after the formal declaration that labeled them as a destabilizing national security threat. Marijuana was banned from Mexico City in the 1860s and the State of Oaxaca shortly after that, with the surrounding areas following suit. After the Mexican Revolution in 1910, cocaine and opium imports began to be restricted by the newly empowered Superior Board of Health. The then leader of the Superior Board of Health, José María Rodríguez, pushed for these reforms, citing the need for a healthy vibrant population due to the country’s proximity to other rapidly growing nations (namely the US). The easily made link between drugs and disparagement, treachery, prison, death, made

Shirk, David. The Drug War in Mexico : Confronting a Shared Threat. New York City, 2011. E-Book.

A report from the University of San Diego's Trans-Border Institute [PDF] details the challenges of calculating the toll of Mexico's drug violence, and analyzes shifting patterns in the country's organized crime.

The article “From Darkness, Dawn” demonstrates how Mexico is no longer the way it used to be in terms as in economy, population growth, poverty, and drug war. The author of the article “From Darkness, Dawn” Tom Wainwright states, “Mexico outpaced Brazilin their economy, Net emigration is down to zero, fertility rate will soon be lower, Yes there is poverty, but alleviated by services such as universal free health care, and the failure of rich countries’ anti-drugs policies means that organized crime will not go away. But Mexico’s murder rate is now falling, albeit slowly, for the first time in five years”. Wainwright

Introduction I. Let’s say you’re with friends in Mexico on summer break and you’re staying in one of the many beautiful beaches but little do you know that the area that you’re visiting is controlled and monitored by a ruthless drug cartel. II. My name is Luis De La Cruz III. I am here today to inform you about the three major reasons why drug cartels are dangerous.

They argue that the increase can be related to drug trafficking. They explain that illegal activities are usually associated with violence because members of organized illegal enterprises can’t seek legal means of dealing with violations of business agreements and must resort to violence as a way to resolve conflicts. The authors acknowledge several limitations in gathering data on violence related to drug crimes. For example, most data sets don’t cover exactly the same period of time, they vary in the geographic level of data aggregation, and some report at national levels while others report at the state level. However, characteristics such as the use of certain types of weapons and tactics, extreme forms of violence like torture or decapitation, overt messages to authorities and rivals. and intentional public evidence of their violence are usually a way of distinguishing a homicide as being associated with drug trafficking organizations. The authors use various secondary sources and figures to support their argument that violence has increased dramatically in Mexico. They also point out changes in distribution and quality of violence that suggest a relationship to drug trafficking. For example, they found that the highest rates of homicide were concentrated in areas associated with production or transit of

In 2006, Mexico began to crack down on drug trafficking operations in union with the United States. Why all of the sudden? In regard to that question, my paper will include a history of events leading up to this sudden crack down on drug trafficking, from its start in the 1960’s until today. After the history of the drug war, I will discuss the main states involved like the United States and Mexico itself. Along with their main goal of eliminating drug trafficking all together, although it is a very high expectation. Mexico has sent out 50,000 soldiers that are being paid less than a burrito vendor, in attempt to lessen the

Over the past years, Mexico has experienced extreme changes due to the violent drug wars. Violence has presented itself in every neighborhood, every street corner, and even in the schools. Chalk outlines are seen drawn on various streets of homicide scenes. Thousands of people have lost their lives in the hands of drug traffickers. Life itself in Mexico, has taken a change for the worse. One may ask what the reasons are for this wave of violence. The most logical answer, of course, is to blame the criminals. It is the drug lords who are smuggling, transporting, and selling these drugs. They should be the ones held responsible, right? The answer to this question is deeply rooted in the history of corruption in the Mexican Government. The