U.s. Politics, Citizen Safety, And Economy

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.

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.

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.

Illegal Immigration through Mexican borders has been a challenging issue for policy makers to handle. Some people believe that throwing money towards tightening border security and building a wall will provide the answer. Others believe that allowing more illegal aliens to stay in the United States, thus stealing jobs from U.S. citizens, would be an adequate solution. Another possibility is that NAFTA be reorganized so that it better helps the Mexican economy therefore leading to less illegal aliens desiring to cross the border. However, these issues are all based on the concept that illegal aliens are crossing the border in search of a better life. These solutions fail to recognize the main reason as to why there is a border crisis today

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

In ten years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, 6,335 US soldiers have been killed in combat. In less than half that span of time, from December 2006 to December 2010, approximately 38,000 Mexican citizens were killed by cartel related violence. Even without counting the many thousands of Mexicans who were killed before December 2006, the War on Drugs, over ten years, will be fifteen times deadlier than the War on Terror. The level of violence near the border is unacceptable and the United States must share the blame. The rising death toll serves as the proof of what certain people have been saying for years: both the Mexican and American governments need to change their strategy in order to minimize the presence of drug cartels and to

On December 11, 2006, Calderón sent 6,500 soldiers, marines and the federal police to the state. The plan was to “take back” that has been taken over by organized crime. That was ten years ago, till this day, the drug war still rages on. The drug war has left people over 150,000 people dead and 30,000 people have gone missing since 2006. Even with all the death and missing people, the drug flow remained steady north to the United States. As Romero has noted, “the world’s largest consumer of cocaine (United States); 84% enters via the Mexican border.” Mexico has spent at least $54 billion on security and defence with the help of the US donating at least $1.5 billion. Mexico has began trying a new tactic to stop the drug flow by using their own armed forces, but ends up hurting more than helping. “The armed forces have been turned against the Mexican people, and have gradually established a record of violating human rights” (Romero). Since Calderon’s has become president, the number of citizen abuse complaints about 541 more. Even the police couldn’t be trusted. The president knew “90% of Mexicans feel are corrupt” (Romero) and to undertake his crusade. Also about estimated “99% of crimes go unsolved” (Romero) due to the corruption of the police. “Calderón would be only the second Mexican leader who did not hail from the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), which had ruled for most of the 20th century”

Cities on both sides of the Mexican-American border are continuously terrorized by drug cartels as a way to keep control over shipping routes and silence from citizens. (Wilkinson 2008) In 2010 an employee of the United States Embassy in Mexico was murdered along the Mexico-American border. This added tension to the ongoing drug trafficking problem and raised the issue of Mexico’s inability to control its own borders. Felipe Calderon, the President of Mexico, stated that he is seeking a stronger relationship with the United States. The effects of this relationship can be seen on the streets with the intensified level of violence against the drug cartels and the effectiveness of the government. (Dresser 2009)

The United States has led the fight against criminal activities from Mexican borders for many years. Criminal activities along the United States and Mexican border range from drug trafficking, human smuggling and an economy that disruptive. These are illegal activities scholars have argued could lead to the failure of Mexico as a country and the spread of violence to the United States. The illegal activities are not only a threat to the economy of Mexico and United States but also to the rest of the world due the impacts associated. The border between Mexico and US is of essential significance because it provides the link between the two countries. The border provides passageways through which either country can access the other via land or air means. Although the border is of significance to both countries, smuggling of drugs and trafficking human are main causes of violence between the countries. Drug cartels in Mexico smuggle drugs into the United States and this drives a war between them and the US government. The economy and the peace between Mexico and US is also affected significantly due to the illegal activities. To minimize the violence caused by these illegal activities, the US government need to act against the activities. The United States needs to increase the economic aid and military intervention to Mexico to fight the drug cartels, otherwise it could become a failed state; spreading more violence across the US border.

In a period of four years one metropolitan city experienced a 1,000 percent increase in homicides. Steven Dudley and Elyssa Pachico report that there was an astounding 3,000 murders reported in 2010 compared to only 300 murders in 2006. The statistics dubbed Ciudad Juarez as the murder capital of the world during these years. The ongoing war between the once dominant Juarez Cartel and the current reigning rival Sinaloa Cartel spurred the homicide rate in this crucial drug trafficking route. Recent speculations are that the Sinaloa Cartel led by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera has surpassed the waning Juarez Cartel and taken control of Cd. Juarez’s territory (Shoichet). Just like both groups are to blame for the colossal amount of murders so can the shift in power and dominance by one organized crime group in the area could be accredited the dramatic decrease in violence. Crime in this border city which neighbors El Paso, TX has had a sharp decrease in killings. Julio Castañeda, a Chihuahua state spokesman, reports, “So far this year (2015) there have been 89 killings” (Valencia). Fighting organized crime will always be an international challenge, but the war against organized crime in Mexico and along the border with the United States needs to be approached differently than it has been in the past. The high demand for illicit drugs in the United States needs to be minimized, the supply of weapons flowing south to arm federal law enforcement agencies in Mexico needs to stop,

The purpose of this paper will be to make a comparison between the Colombian drug cartels at the turn of the century with the mexican cartels today. The object of this comparison will be to determine the effectiveness of large scale millitary intervention against drug cartels.I will assess weather this comparison is not only justified but in any way usefull in understanding how fight a well funded well armed non-state enemy. This is a response to public comments by high ranking United States officials making this comparison (most notably secretary of state Hillary Clinton) while pledging a significant amount of American resources to such an effort. I will also attempt to answer all of the various questions that are begged by this nature of

He states, “There is no evidence of an increase in crime rates before the launching of the current strategy and in fact, crime rates in Mexico were following a steady decline since the early 1990’s”.1 The strategy followed so far may have led to an increase in violence through many different channels. Esquivel notes that the new strategy should address the source of violence, which may be by region, and focus on detaining those who commit violent acts and also attack the financial resources of DTOs considering there has been no progress there in recent years. However this method requires more intelligence work and a more comprehensive

The current strategy to crackdown and capture leaders has been proved as a failure to reduce the violence and establish the rule of law and it has been clear that the war on drugs has been expensive and destructive. It is important that the U.S. and México work together to continue strengthening their security cooperation. The U.S. and México must work on strengthening México’s judicial procedures, fight corruption, and reform the police forces. Because it is clear that this issue also affects the U.S., it would be beneficial for the U.S. to work on improving its gun laws and increase emphasis on prevention and treatment for drug addicts. Improving México’s rule of law is an important step that must be taken because the ineffectiveness of