The Zetas vs. Sinaloa Cartel

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.

Mexico has a long history of cartels the deaths, drugs and weapon trafficking is in all time high increasing year by year. “Mexico's gangs have flourished since the late 19th century, mostly in the north due to their proximity to towns along the U.S.-Mexico border. But it was the American appetite for cocaine in the 1970s that gave Mexican drug cartels immense power to manufacture and transport drugs across the border. Early Mexican gangs were primarily situated in border towns where prostitution, drug use, bootlegging and extortion flourished” (Wagner). They keep themselves armed and ready with gun supplies shipped from the U.S, taking control of the drug trades. The violence is spilling so out of control that

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

Thousands upon thousands of lives have been taken due to the huge demand for drugs crossing from Mexico into the United States. The murder rate is extremely high, and has caused so much chaos between both countries because of this. Drug dealers in the United States contact drug dealers in Mexico, and vice versa, to cross the drugs between borders illegally. A high percentage of the time, either of the drug dealers from both sides will have a scape goat swim the border while carrying high amounts of drugs with them, or will attempt to cross it over smuggled in a vehicle. In Mexico, it is extremely corrupt and even the law enforcement is involved in the crossing of drugs illegally. This being done causes so much conflict

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.

Summary: The southwest border region is the most significant national level storage, transportation and transshipment area for illicit drug shipments that are designed for markets throughout the US. The south west region is the biggest drug smuggling zone in the US. More illegal drugs are seized in this area than in any other arrival zone. Mexican cartels have developed expensive drug transportation networks extending from the Southwest border to all regions of the US. Drugs gets smuggled between ports of entry along the southwest border and are stored all throughout the US. The threat posted to the nation by the Mexican cartels that operate in Mexico and the southwest border region extends well beyond drug trafficking to other criminal activities including border

The situation in Mexico regarding the Drug Cartels has been an ongoing battle that has taken the life of between 30,000 to 40,000 civilians, cartels henchmen and federal employees. The violence has evolved into something new in recent years. The brutality contributed by the drug cartels could potentially be labeled as terrorist acts. The strong domestic conflict surrounding the drug cartel in Mexico has boiled over the border and into the United States. Illegal drugs enter the United States through various openings along the U.S- Mexican Border. There are nine important crossings, such as Tijuana-San Diego, Mexicali, and Ciudad Juarez-El Paso. From Texas to Southern California, these drugs are handed out throughout the United States via

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.

Violence in Mexico has always existed and always will exist, but lately it has risen tremendously. It consists of two enormous groups going head to head because of disagreements. As common sense, we all know this never ends well. The less people involved in this predicament would not cause as many deaths and damage to the country. The more the people the more opinions there is causing there to be more disputes and tension between the two sides. Due to this, the United States intervening with Mexico’s violence leads to bad results, therefore they should opt out.

To begin, The U.S. for decades, has been a target for major drug trafficking. Between the 1960’s and 1980’s, Mexico was a well traveled country, in which it brought to rise the Columbian drug-cartel into Mexico, led by Pablo Escobar and Ochoa Vasquez. Mexican gangs were being used to transport the number one selling drug at the time, cocaine. This led to the formation of the Sinaloa Cartel, the Juarez Cartel, Los Zetas and many more. The U.S. has been developing strategies to try and capture narco lords.

“The Sinaloa Cartel was founded by Jaime Hererra Nevares, Ernesto Fonseca Carillo, Eduardo Fernandez, Jorge Escobar, Pedro Aviles Perez, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, and Hector Luis Palma” (Beith, 2011, p. 68). The Sinaloa Cartel is a culmination of different Mexican drug organizations. Herrera was in charge of an organization that exported heroine from Mexico through Chicago using what is known as the “heroin highway” (Beith, 2011). Eventually the Herrera organization teamed up with Ernesto Fonseca and Jorge Escobar who were key figures in the Sinaloan drug world. The Mexican government launched Operation Condor which forced

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

During the mid-2000’s former President of Mexico Felipe Calderon announced his war on the cartels and led to a crackdown against these organizations, along with assistance with

Drug trafficking has been an ongoing epidemic in the United States, as well us other countries for an unimaginable amount of time. Illegal drugs varying from heroin and cocaine are primarily the main drugs that get smuggled in the United States from South America. Even marijuana and methamphetamine have been popular in the drug smuggling “industry”. These gangs go to a variety of different extents to get the job done. Drug trafficking increases the violence levels These drugs have been smuggled through the Southwest Border since the 1970s and are attempting to expand the distribution of those drugs into eastern U.S. markets. The countries of drug production have been seen as the worst affected by prohibition. In many countries worldwide, the illegal drug trafficking can be directly linked to high violent crimes. This is especially true in third world countries, but has still been seen as an issue for many developed countries all over the world. Drug trafficking increases the risk of violence and crime due rise of addiction along with an increase of death. It also effects the along with correctional system effects.to its high costs, Nearly all of the heroin produced in Mexico is destined for distribution in the United States. Organized crime groups operating from Mexico produce, smuggle, and distribute various illegal drugs after trafficking them across the US border. Trafficking groups that operate from Mexico tend to avoid penalties by their stealthy methods of smuggling

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.