In recent years Mexico has come into the media spotlight as a drug distributing country. The majority of drugs found in the United States have been on Mexican soil. On the Mexican side of the border drug cartels are organizing drug smuggling operations across the border states. Drug cartels have a twenty to thirty year history but drug trafficking has a much longer history.
In 1914 the United States government passed the Harrison Act which was designed to regulate drug use. Eight years after its passing the act ended up completely prohibiting the use of narcotic drugs. In her article, Gabriela Recio points out that between 1922 and 1923 of the arrest for drug consumption made in Baja California 44% were of United States citizens while only 21% were Mexican. When it came to drug smuggling arrests 50% of the people arrested were Mexican while only 7% were United States citizens. Recio presents these figures to show that Mexico has a history of being a distributor of drugs and the United States has been the consumer.[1]
Not much has changed in the past 80-90 years. According to CNN.com there have been 60,000 pounds of marijuana confiscated by authorities along the California coastline.[2] Keep in mind that that 60,000 pounds of marijuana was confiscated but there is no telling how many more went undetected.
[1] Recio, G. Drugs and Alcohol: US Prohibition and the Origins of the Drug Trade in Mexico, 1910-1930. Journal of Latin American Studies. 34(1). P.21-42.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3875386.pdf
[2] Mexican Smugglers use Pacific as New Route. CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/09/23/california.border.shooting/
Monday, September 28, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Gulf Cartel: bribes, corruption and murder
Organization is key to running a successful business, the illicit drug trade is no exception. The Gulf Cartel began as a group of former lieutenant and has expanded to include their own paramilitary group (Los Zetas). The duties of the members of Los Zetas include laundering money, kidnapping, assassinating and collecting any debts owed to the Gulf Cartel. The Gulf Cartel maintains control over Nuevo Laredo, a border city with Laredo, Texas. The majority of their drug smuggling occurs across the Mexico-Texas border. In recent news a former Texas Sheriff was sentenced to five years in prison for accepting bribes from the Gulf Cartel in order for the Cartel to freely smuggle drugs into the United States[1]. The recent arrest of Sheriff Guerra shows the extent of the Gulf Cartel’s influence. The cartel’s influence reaches across the border and into the United States.
The Gulf Cartel has benefited greatly as a result of corrupt government officials, including law enforcement agents. In the past year 122 Mexican police officers have been arrested on suspicion of having ties to Los Zetas. The relationship the Cartel has with the police officers allows drug trafficking to go on without interruption. Officer corruption has been attributed to the low pay they receive. The low pay makes the decision to take the Gulf Cartel’s bribes much easier. Another effort aimed at reducing police corruption includes better training as well as equipping the officers with the proper tools needed to carry out their duties. [2] By cutting off the link that ties police officers to the Gulf Cartel the Mexican government is moving closer towards dissolving the Gulf Cartel.
In order to combat the Gulf Cartel, as well as other Mexican drug cartels, 48,000 troops have been deployed by President Felipe Calderon. In addition to this the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has offered a combined reward of $50 million for the arrests of the Gulf Cartel’s leaders. According to the DEA, “the Gulf Cartel is responsible for much of the escalation of violence along our Southwest Border. Their violence is not contained at the Border, however. It has reached as far as Chicago and Detroit and even into small town America, as evidenced by the horrific murders of five people, including 3 innocent bystanders, in Birmingham, Alabama, in August 2008—attributed to the Cartel”[3]. The border is no barrier for drug related violence.
[1] Texas: Former Sheriff Is Sentenced. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/us/28brfs-FORMERSHERIF_BRF.html
[2] Police Step Up in Mexico’s Drug Wars. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-09-16-mexico-drug-war_N.htm
[3] DEA Announces Gulf Cartel/Los Zetas Most-Wanted List.
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2009/dallas072309.html
The Gulf Cartel has benefited greatly as a result of corrupt government officials, including law enforcement agents. In the past year 122 Mexican police officers have been arrested on suspicion of having ties to Los Zetas. The relationship the Cartel has with the police officers allows drug trafficking to go on without interruption. Officer corruption has been attributed to the low pay they receive. The low pay makes the decision to take the Gulf Cartel’s bribes much easier. Another effort aimed at reducing police corruption includes better training as well as equipping the officers with the proper tools needed to carry out their duties. [2] By cutting off the link that ties police officers to the Gulf Cartel the Mexican government is moving closer towards dissolving the Gulf Cartel.
In order to combat the Gulf Cartel, as well as other Mexican drug cartels, 48,000 troops have been deployed by President Felipe Calderon. In addition to this the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has offered a combined reward of $50 million for the arrests of the Gulf Cartel’s leaders. According to the DEA, “the Gulf Cartel is responsible for much of the escalation of violence along our Southwest Border. Their violence is not contained at the Border, however. It has reached as far as Chicago and Detroit and even into small town America, as evidenced by the horrific murders of five people, including 3 innocent bystanders, in Birmingham, Alabama, in August 2008—attributed to the Cartel”[3]. The border is no barrier for drug related violence.
[1] Texas: Former Sheriff Is Sentenced. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/us/28brfs-FORMERSHERIF_BRF.html
[2] Police Step Up in Mexico’s Drug Wars. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-09-16-mexico-drug-war_N.htm
[3] DEA Announces Gulf Cartel/Los Zetas Most-Wanted List.
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2009/dallas072309.html
Monday, September 14, 2009
United States experiencing violence related to Mexican drug cartels
Post 1:
After being elected in 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels that controlled drug trafficking both in Mexico and the United States. In 2008 there were 6,000 murders in Mexico that have been connected to various drug cartels. President Calderon’s response to the increasing drug problem was to deploy 4,000 troops to deal with the drug cartels. As a result of this deployment there has been an increase in the number of drugs seized but also an increase in the number of drug related fatalities. According to the BBC the drug cartels are not only at war with each other but also with the Mexican army. The drug problem that the Mexican government is dealing with has managed to make its way across the border.
On August 20, 2009 the United States Attorney General filed charges against 43 individuals for trafficking drugs into the United States. These 43 individuals are alleged to be responsible for the distributing more than 200 metric tons of cocaine in the United States in an 18 year period. The cities located along the border shared by Mexico and the united States have experienced the most violence.
On March 23, 2009 the New York Times reported that there has been an increase in home invasion robberies since the war on drug cartels was declared. A number of these robberies have been linked to repayment of debts owed to drug traffickers. Another case of violence caused by Mexican drug cartels in the United States occurred in Diego. This incident involved 17 members of the Arrellano-Felix drug cartel that killed a total of nine people in a three year period.
Most of the murders linked to the various drug cartels have involved participants of the drug trade.
Drug related crimes are not a recent development in the United States. What is alarming is the level of organization involved in not only creating but also running a drug cartel. The mass amount of drugs being smuggled into the United States by these cartels is a cause for concern. The dismantling of these cartels is a start to curbing the illicit drug trade in the United States
Works cited:
Top Mexican drug dealers among dozens indicted in U.S., officials say
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-drug-cartels21-2009aug21,0,3757559.story
Mexican Drug Cartel Violence Spills Over, Alarming U.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/us/23border.html
Q&A: Mexico's drug-fuelled violence
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7906284.stm
After being elected in 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels that controlled drug trafficking both in Mexico and the United States. In 2008 there were 6,000 murders in Mexico that have been connected to various drug cartels. President Calderon’s response to the increasing drug problem was to deploy 4,000 troops to deal with the drug cartels. As a result of this deployment there has been an increase in the number of drugs seized but also an increase in the number of drug related fatalities. According to the BBC the drug cartels are not only at war with each other but also with the Mexican army. The drug problem that the Mexican government is dealing with has managed to make its way across the border.
On August 20, 2009 the United States Attorney General filed charges against 43 individuals for trafficking drugs into the United States. These 43 individuals are alleged to be responsible for the distributing more than 200 metric tons of cocaine in the United States in an 18 year period. The cities located along the border shared by Mexico and the united States have experienced the most violence.
On March 23, 2009 the New York Times reported that there has been an increase in home invasion robberies since the war on drug cartels was declared. A number of these robberies have been linked to repayment of debts owed to drug traffickers. Another case of violence caused by Mexican drug cartels in the United States occurred in Diego. This incident involved 17 members of the Arrellano-Felix drug cartel that killed a total of nine people in a three year period.
Most of the murders linked to the various drug cartels have involved participants of the drug trade.
Drug related crimes are not a recent development in the United States. What is alarming is the level of organization involved in not only creating but also running a drug cartel. The mass amount of drugs being smuggled into the United States by these cartels is a cause for concern. The dismantling of these cartels is a start to curbing the illicit drug trade in the United States
Works cited:
Top Mexican drug dealers among dozens indicted in U.S., officials say
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-drug-cartels21-2009aug21,0,3757559.story
Mexican Drug Cartel Violence Spills Over, Alarming U.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/us/23border.html
Q&A: Mexico's drug-fuelled violence
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7906284.stm
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