Mexicos Drug War

United States Impact on Mexicos Drug War Jared Green Maryville University

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Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States. This was first coined by President Porfirio Diaz around the turn of the 20th century. Although, when Porfirio Diaz coined this term, he had no intention of relating it to the situation Mexico is in with the war on drugs today. But, this quote applies possibly even more today than ever before in. In the past six years there have been 60,000 people killed in Mexico due to drug-related violence, and most believe this number is very modest. One would think that a problem with this much bloodshed and in a country so close to the United States, would garner more attention on a national level. However, with our recent election there was no mention of this problem in the foreign policy debate between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, According to Seijas (2012). How many more lives will have to be lost due to drug-related violence before this problem will no longer be ignored? An analysis of the out of control violence stemming from the drug trade in Mexico reveals the United States plays a great role in the problem. Seijass article states the following: "We can't blame the U.S. for the violence in Mexico," says Anabel Hernandez, an investigative journalist who has put her life on the line writing about Mexico's drug lords.

We have to look at our own corruption, the terrible impunity and lack of justice. We have to fix these problems ourselves, not wait for Obama or Romney. But that Mexico didn't even warrant one line in the last debate, when we have thousands dead, and even two CIA agents nearly killed in an ambush recently -- that tells you that the U.S.-- Mexico relationship is not going to change. (p. 1) Mexicos geographic proximity to the United States makes it the most logical place to assume illegal narcotics could enter the United States. However, Canada is also a neighbor to the

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north of the United States, but there is not a problem with illegal drugs entering through at such a high rate. What sets Mexico apart from Canada is that it is also closer to the countries of Central America and South America. Places such as these, are where numerous illegal narcotics are manufactured and distributed every day.

The prohibition of alcohol in the United States started in 1920 and ended in 1933. During this period, illegal alcohol was supplied by Mexico. After the end of alcohol prohibition in the United States in 1933, is believed to be the beginning of the illegal drug trade with the United States. Those in charge of smuggling alcohol to the United States during alcohol prohibition saw the profits and realized there can be a lot of money to be gained from the illegal drug trade. The end of the 1960s marked the beginning of the major drug smuggling operations between Mexico and the United States (Vulliamy, 2010).

The vast profits to be made from the drug trade and also the illegality, led to the rise and formation of criminal organizations. These criminal organizations are known in Mexico as drug cartels or drug trafficking organizations (DTOs). These DTOs have been around for decades but did not surface into the spotlight until 2006. The current cartels that are most prevalent did not come into power until the DTOs in Columbia were disbanded. Beittels (2012) book states the following: As Colombian DTOs were forcibly broken up, the highly profitable traffic in cocaine to the United States was gradually taken over by Mexican traffickers. The traditional trafficking route used by the Colombians through the Caribbean was shut down by intense enforcement efforts of the U.S. government. As Colombian DTOs lost this route,

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they increasingly subcontracted the trafficking of cocaine produced in the Andean region to the Mexican DTOs, who they paid in cocaine rather than cash. These already strong organizations gradually took over the cocaine trafficking business, evolving from being mere couriers for the Colombians to being the wholesalers they are today. As Mexicos drug trafficking organizations rose to dominate the U.S. drug markets in the 1990s, the business became even more lucrative. This raised the stakes, which encouraged the use of violence in Mexico to protect and promote market share. The violent struggle between DTOs over strategic routes and warehouses where drugs are consolidated before entering the United States reflects these higher stakes. (p.11) The success of the Mexican DTOs originated in the distribution of cocaine from Columbia, but eventually led to their involvement in other illegal narcotics. Not only is Mexico the principal transit country for cocaine sold in the United States, they are a major producer and supplier to the U.S. markets of heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana (Beittel 2012). After being elected President of Mexico in 2006, Felipe Calderon made it apart of his campaign to rid the country of the powerful DTOs. A part of his plan was to use the military and police forces in parts of the country which had high activity of the drug trade movement and cartel involvement. This campaign could be seen as a success by some and a failure to others. There were many arrests or killings of leaders of DTOs during this campaign, but this also led to increased violence and resistance by the DTOs. During Calderons tenure, there has been a dramatic increase in the removal of leaders of DTOs (Beittel, 2012). This same strategy of trying to eliminate DTOs by targeting top leaders was successful in disbanding the Columbian DTOs discussed earlier. Many analysts maintain that the implementation of the kingpin strategy in Mexico has created more instability and, at least in the near term, more violence. These analysts

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suggest that intense but unfocused enforcement efforts against the DTOs have increased fragmentation and upset whatever equilibrium the organizations are trying to establish by their displays of violent power. As a result, the violence in Mexico is more extensive, more volatile, and less predictable. The U.S. government and the administration of Mexican President Felipe Caldern strongly deny the so-called failed state thesis that was put forward by some analysts in 2008 and 2009, which suggested that the Mexican government was no longer exercising sovereignty in all areas of the country (Beittel, 2012). This statement was rejected because it suggested it had no control over all areas of the country, which was not the case. Only some parts of the country are believed to be lost to the DTOs. Although, nothing of this serious problem was mentioned during the Presidential Debate, it is not going completely unnoticed. The situation is being addressed by United States Congress. They realize that with the close proximity of Mexico and the shared border, there is always the possibility for the violence to cross over into United States territory. According to the 2011 National Drug Threat Assessment, the potential harm of Mexicos organizations is formidable. Mexican DTOs and their affiliates dominate the supply and wholesale distribution of most illicit drugs in the United States and are present in more than 1,000 U.S. cities. Unfortunately it took violence against citizens of the United States to get the attention of United States people and Congress. There have been hearings by the 111th and 112th Congress to address the violence in Mexico, U.S. foreign assistance and border security issues. These talks became more serious after three people connected with the United States consulate in Ciudad Juarez were killed in March 2010 and the murder of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata on February 15, 2011 (Beittel, 2012).

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When President Caldern came to office in December 2006, there were four dominant DTOs: the Tijuana/Arellano Felix organization (AFO), the Sinaloa cartel, the Jurez/Vicente Carillo Fuentes organization (CFO), and the Gulf cartel. Since then, the more stable organizations that existed in the earlier years of the Caldern Administration have fractured into many more groups. For a time, according to the U.S. DEA, seven organizations were dominant. These included Sinaloa, Los Zetas, Tijuana/AFO, Jurez/CFO, Beltrn Leyva, Gulf, and La Familia Michoacana. However, many analysts suggest that these seven now seem to have fragmented to between 12 and as many as 20 organizations. Today, two large national DTOsSinaloa and Los Zetasappear to be preeminent. But the diversification into other crime, the ephemeral prominence of new gangs and DTOs, and shifting alliances make a static DTO landscape difficult to portray. According to (Beittel 2012). DTOs use violence and bribery to keep control. They use violence as punishment for employees; deter other DTOs from taking their share of the market and also to force people against their will for the benefit of the DTO. DTOs use bribery to corrupt government officials, military forces and police/border officers. DTOs use profits to bribe these people in power to turn a blind eye to the illegal activities of the DTO. The violence and bribery are used hand in hand by the DTOs. The DTOs need corruption to advance their operations so if an official does not accept the bribery the DTO may turn to violence to carry out their goals. In some cases the corruption of law enforcement is so severe that law enforcement will actually carry out acts of violence on behalf of the cartels (Markhart). The continuing challenge of police corruption was illustrated in the August 2010 firing of 3,200 officers, about 10% of the 34,500-person federal force, by Mexicos Federal Police

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Commissioner after they failed basic integrity tests (Mexico Politics, 2010). The corruption of the police is not the only corruption. The article Mexico Politics: Whither the War on Drugs? (2010) reveals: Arrests of public officials accused of cooperating with the DTOs have not been followed by convictions. For example, in May 2009, federal authorities arrested 10 Mexican mayors and 18 other state and local officials in the presidents home state of Michoacn for alleged ties to drug trafficking organizations. All but one individual were subsequently released because their cases did not hold up in court. In 2011, the former mayor of the resort city Cancun, Gregorio Greg Sanchez, was released 14 months after his arrest on drug trafficking and money laundering charges when his case collapsed in federal court. Similarly, the former mayor of Tijuana, Jorge Hank Rhon, was released less than two weeks after his arrest in June 2011 on weapons and murder charges due to mistakes made in the arrest procedures. The corruption has taken place in states and localities governed by each of the three major political parties in Mexico, indicating that no party is immune (p. 2). The United States plays a huge role in the arming of the DTOs in Mexico. Citizens of Mexico have the constitutional right to own firearms. However, legally obtaining a firearm in Mexico is not an easy process. A large number of firearms in Mexico are smuggled from the United States. According to [U.S.] Justice Department figures, in the past five years 94,000 weapons have been recovered from Mexican drug cartels, of which 64,000 -- 70 percent -- come from the United States. States (eTrace..., 2011). Project Gunrunner is a project of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to try and prevent the flow of weapons that end up in the hands of the drug cartels. With Project Gunrunner there is now

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software put in place called eTrace that allows the ATF to trace weapons used in crimes to the first recorded purchaser (eTrace..., 2011) However, this is very complicated because it is hard to prove how the gun ended up in the hands of criminals in Mexico. The original purchaser could have legally sold the weapon to someone else who had then in turn sold it on the black market or smuggled it into Mexico. There has been some relative success stemming from Project Gunrunner. By early 2009, Project Gunrunner had resulted in approximately 650 cases by ATF, in which more than 1,400 defendants were referred for prosecution in federal and state courts and more than 12,000 firearms were involved (eTrace,2011) On the other hand, there has been a lot of controversy because of this project as well. However, since 2006 under Operation Wide Receiver (2006-2007), Hernandez Case (2007), Medrano Case (2008) and Operation Fast and Furious (2009-2011), the Phoenix offices of ATF encouraged and facilitated straw purchase firearm sales to traffickers, and allowing the guns to 'walk' and be transported to Mexico (eTrace, 2011). In this particular case the phrase straw purchase refers to an agent of the ATF acquiring weapons for someone who is unable to purchase the weapons himself. And then these weapons were given to criminals who used to weapons related to drug violence in Mexico. They would allow these guns to go into Mexico in hopes that eTrace could then lead them to leaders of the DTOs. This tactic is widely viewed as a failure because of the prevalence of these weapons used at crime scenes by those involved in drug cartels. This failure is now known as the ATF gunwalking scandal (eTrace,2011). The Drug Trafficking study shows: The illegal drug market in the United States is one of the most profitable in the world. Each year, according to the U.S. Customs Service, 60 million people enter the United States on more than 675,000 commercial and private flights. Another 6 million come by

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sea and 370 million by land. In addition, 116 million vehicles cross the land borders with Canada and Mexico. More than 90,000 merchant and passenger ships dock at U.S. ports. These ships carry more than 9 million shipping containers and 400 million tons of cargo. Another 157,000 smaller vessels visit our many coastal towns. Amid this voluminous trade, drug traffickers conceal cocaine, heroin, marijuana, MDMA, and methamphetamine shipments for distribution in U.S. neighborhoods. (p. 1) These drugs that are entering United States neighborhoods are leading to problems within the United States. The trafficking and abuse of drugs in the United States affect nearly all aspects of our lives. . . . The damage caused by drug abuse and addiction is reflected in an overburdened justice system, a strained healthcare system, lost productivity and environmental destruction. States (Chalk, 2011) The three factors mentioned in the quote above have combined for a huge amount of money that has had been allocated to the cause. Between 1981 and 2008, federal, state, and local governments are estimated to have spent at least $600 billion (adjusted for inflation) on drug interdiction and related law enforcement efforts; factoring in costs associated with treatment and rehabilitation, the overall total rises to around $800 billion. (Chalk, 2011) These two thoughts greatly contradict each other, but both are fact. The illegal drugs are negatively affecting families across the United States due to the negatives that are apart of drug use and at the same time affecting families due the financial burden the illegal drug trade has placed on the United States. This is why the War on Drugs in the United States is such a debated topic. The violence of the drug trade does not stop once the product enters the United States. There is violence nationwide on a daily basis due to illegal drugs. There are groups of criminals

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that work and profit the same way the DTOs do in Mexico. These groups of criminals use violence just as the DTOs as well to keep control of the drug trade in cities across the nation. Just as the violence does not stop once the drugs are transported across the border, the corruption does not stop; although, the corruption in the United States is not as rampant as the corruption in Mexico. During a congressional hearing in March 2010, representatives from the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) painted a disturbing picture of increased drug-syndicate infiltration into the ranks of the more than 41,000 frontline agents and officers who are now deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border. (Chalk, 2011) A potential way to prevent the corruption of border officials is to weed out potential bad hires before they have to chance to become corrupt. Currently there is a problem hiring people who lack integrity that have been either bribed or coerced to act in a favorable way towards DTOs and in a way detrimental to the United States preventing drugs from entering the country. The United States impact on Mexicos Drug war is a complicated one. There are many different fascists that directly relate what the United States does to the action taken by DTOs and the Mexican Government. This is such a complicated and intricate problem there are many different schools of thoughts on a solution to the problem. Reality of the matter is there is no simple fix. There is such a great demand for illegal drugs in the United States that there will always be someone willing to risk the consequences to reap the rewards and supply the United States drug demands. It just so happens the because of Mexicos geographic location that the logistics add up. They can get the supply of narcotics from either South American, Central America or in Mexico itself and then transport them to satisfy the demand for the narcotics in America.

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Since the illegal drug trade is such a lucrative business, there will always be plenty of people willing to take the risks in order to gain a share of the enormous profits. Unfortunately, when leaders of DTOs are arrested or removed, there is someone ready to take their spot. DTOs currently have such power in Mexico and in some areas they have such a stronghold that the government can do nothing about it. The drug cartels have gained so much money from the drug trade that they are able to pay off government officials as well as police/border officers in order to aid in transporting their products. In cases were bribery does not work the cartels simply use horrendous acts of violence to make sure law enforcement and the government do not get in their way; and to keep rival cartels from encroaching on their turf. This problem has gotten so far out of hand that it will not go away until there is radical change. President Calderon implemented the War on Drugs in 2006, but the cartels have proved to be too powerful to be stopped. Sadly, the United States has played a prominent role in the rise of power of DTOs. In some documented cases United States governmental programs have given DTOs weapons that were used in violent acts. The small amount of cases of the United States programs are not issues to be ignored, but they are relatively small issues when it comes to how the United States has impacted the drug trade problem in Mexico. In todays world money is power; and nobody is supplying the DTOs with more money than citizens of the United States. In essence, until the drug problem in the United States is fixed or the War on Drugs is won, the problem with DTOs in Mexico will not be going away any time soon. So the quote Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States is as relevant as ever. Mexico needs the United States help to end its War on Drugs and vice versa. The War on Drugs in both countries affects millions of lives, but unfortunately it seems to be on the backburner of American Foreign Policy. Government officials view issues in the Middle East as a greater threat

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to the United States and thus most of their resources, money and time are focused there. Regrettably, for Mexico the illegal drug trade and DTOs seem to be just off the United States radar. Mexico needs the help from its neighbor to the north to help restore the power to the government and to the hard working citizens and out of the hands of violent DTOs. Hopefully for the greater good of both countries the hundred year saying Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States will be replaced by a new saying, Strong Mexico, with help from the United States is closer to God as ever sooner than later.

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References Beittel, J. (2012). Mexicos Drug Trafficking Organizations: Source and Scope of the Rising Service. Green, J. (Interviewer). Markhart, H. (Interviewee) 2012, December 5. Chalk, P. (2011). The Latin American Drug Trade. Santa Monica, CA: 2011 Seijas, S. (2012, November 1). Are Obama, Romney ignoring Mexico's drug war? Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/01/opinion/mexico-citypostcard/index.html Vulliamy, E. (2010). Amexica: War Along The Borderline. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (2010, September 2). Mexico Politics: Whither the War on Drugs? Retrieved from http://www.intelligencequarterly.com/2010/09/mexico-politics-whitherthe-war-on-drugs/ (2011, March). eTrace: Internet-Based Firearms Tracing and Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.atf.gov/publications/factsheets/factsheet-etrace.html (2004, May). Drug Trafficking in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.policyalmanac.org/crime/archive/drug_trafficking.shtml Violence. Washington D.C.: Congressional Research

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