War, Hate, And Terror

The numbers speak loud and clear. This was part of the effects that where brought about by this epidemic, the growing use of the drug. Crack cocaine pierced through urban neighborhoods; its roots were tightly griped in Los Angeles California’s black neighborhoods (Webb “Dark Alliance; War…”). In effect, the growing use of cocaine in the US brought fort new types of profit and purpose for the drug trafficking industry; thus the emergence of crack cocaine on American soil, especially through the explosion in LA. This was due to a link between these areas drug dealers and the Fuerza Democratica Nicaraguense (FDA), know as the Contras here in the US (Webb “Dark Alliance; the Shadowy…”). The Contras imported the cocaine through one man, Oscar Danilo Blandon (Webb “Dark Alliance; the Shadowy…”). The Contras revolution against the socialist establishment in Nicaragua was being funded by the drug trafficking industry in other words (Webb “Dark Alliance; the Shadowy…”), and this ius when a chain effect begins. The chains of effects begin in Nicaragua, but ultimately it ends and harbors itself in the US within its urban neighborhoods. The CIA was involved with the Contras is one way or another, this is where the conspiracy theories begin (Webb “Dark Alliance; the Shadowy…”). Supposedly in the most extreme conclusion of them all is that the CIA was allowing the Contras to import and deliver all their cocaine, in order for them to find the monetary means for their

Drugs first surfaced in the United States in the 1800s. After the Civil War opium become very popular and was used medicinally. Following opium was cocaine which was also used as a health remedy but near the end of the 19th century opium and cocaine abuse peaked and local governments began to prohibit opium dens and importation. In 1914 the first federal drug policy, the Harrison Narcotics act, is passed and drugs are no longer seen as harmless remedies. The act aggressively regulated the manufacturing of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and morphine. During the 50’s more federal drug policies were passed and drugs began to become more criminalized. The 60’s saw a rise in counter-culture and substances such as marijuana and LSD saw widespread use. The demand for drugs skyrocketed in the 1960s. In 1971 President Nixon declared drug abuse America 's number one enemy and proclaimed that we must wave a all out offensive. After President Nixon declared the War on Drugs in 1971, the United States has spent more than a trillion dollars on this failing policy that not only has had no effect on the amount of drugs being used in the United States and has increased the number of people incarcerated on drug charges from just 50,000 to over half a million, but also has helped fuel drug cartels and foment violence and death through overdoses from uncontrolled drug potency and turf wars between street gangs.

Nixon’s drug war, however, was a mere skirmish in comparison to the colossal efforts launched by the Ronald Reagan administration in the 1980s. Formally announced by President Ronald Reagan in 1982, the War on Drugs was marked by deep public concern, bordering on hysteria,, towards the nation’s drug problem. Under the leadership of President Reagan, the nation focused unprecedented energy and resources towards eliminating illicit drug use and trafficking.” (pp.

Drugs have been a problem in the country for a long time. Issues with drugs even existed in ancient times. However, through the War on Drugs, the media created a panic about the issue, making citizens believe drug abuse was an exponentially growing new epidemic in the United States. Although the War on Drugs was declared in 1982 and was intended to reduce the rates of drug abuse in the US, America’s drug problem increased dramatically over the next years (Bagley, 1988).

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

President Ronald Reagan officially announced the current drug war in 1982, before crack became an issue in the media or a crisis in poor black neighborhoods. A few years after the drug war was declared, crack began to spread rapidly in the poor black neighborhoods of Los Angeles and later emerged in cities across the country. The Reagan administration hired staff to publicize the emergence of crack cocaine in 1985 as part of a strategic effort to build public legislative support for the war. The media bonanza surrounding the “new demon drug” helped to catapult the War on Drugs from an ambitious federal policy to an actual war (Alexander 5).

The Drug War has been a policy and a battle to stop drug flow into the U.S, cease drug production and to completely illuminate drugs entirely but results have shown otherwise. In 1971, President Richard Nixon first declared the Drug war and classified drugs as a number one public enemy shortly after drug use hit its peak in the 1960’s. The U.S previously had anti-drug laws but the laws were light and directed mainly to minorities. The following President Jimmy Carter believed in decriminalizing Marijuana and certain portions of Marijuana were legal to possess during his term but the legalization was shortly lived. A new attempted solution was a program Nancy Reagan, President

According to the U.S. Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center, drug cartels can be define as “…large, highly sophisticated organizations composed of multiple [Drug Trafficking Organizations] DTOs and cells with specific assignments such as drug transportation, security/enforcement, or money laundering” (2010). Also, it is mention within this national drug threat assessment that was done by the U.S. Department of Justice, that the “greatest drug trafficking threat” to the United States is “Mexico” (2010). With this been said one can understand that the roots majority of the criminal groups that operate domestically within the U.S. can be traced back to Mexico. So, in order to understand how this criminal organizations form

The War on Drugs ruined the lives of many people, wasted billions of taxpayer dollars, and especially targeted people of color. The war originally attacked poor communities of color with heroin and cocaine laws (War). After President Nixon, Ronald Reagan re-launched the war of drugs in 1982 by “ increasing anti-drug enforcement spending, creating a federal drug task force, and helping to foster a culture that demonized drug use and drug users” (Cooper). Cooper found

The most prominent leader of the Mexican Drug Cartel is Omar Treviño Morales who took the seat of power after his brother Miguel Treviño Morales after being arrested by the

    The residents of Juarez say the bloody turf war between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Juarez Cartel. The Sinaloa Cartel is led by the world’s most wanted drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, he also won the border battle back in 2010. The dispute between the two cartels was over border control. Cops, Federal Agents, and even government officials were either bribed with money or threatened their life or family lives. During the two years of 2014-2015 the residents felt safe until 2016. In 2016 residents of Juarez witnessed once again execution style deaths in the city of

The Cali Cartel was an established in 1972 and prospered until 1992. After the downfall of the Medellin Cartel the Cali Cartel quickly filled their shoes becoming the most powerful cartel. La Times quoted the Cali Cartel “Once the richest and most powerful crime syndicate in the world.” (Rempel). This cartel was very sophisticated. Instead of using violence to get what they want they used business. They quietly funded presidential elections to the leaders they wanted. They had lawyers Study the DEA and U.S prosecutors to be 1 step ahead of everyone. The Cali Cartel fell as a direct result of U.S law enforcement operations and diplomatic pressure (Rempel). It

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

The Cali Cartel was less flashy with their money compared to other cartels at the time and were more about the business side of drug trafficking. They would ship mostly to Europe and Asia, where it was less likely to get caught. They did not get along with the other cartels around and would give information about them to the police to get themselves out of trouble. The Cali Cartel had competitions against the Medellin Cartel, another cartel from Colombia, especially Pablo Escobar, the leader of the Medellin Cartel. It got very violent between the two cartels and killings often occurred. The Cali Cartel started a group called People Against Pablo Escobar or PEPES, specifically to threaten him,” The Cali cartel began to attack the Medellin cartel -- particularly Pablo Escobar -- as their competition became more and more violent”(“The Colombian Cartels” 1). They would inform the police of his whereabouts, which ended up getting him caught and eventually put in jail. The Cali Cartel then took over the cocaine business until they all got caught and jailed. Most of the cartel sat for ten to fifteen

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.