Is Mexico losing its war on drugs?

It has been three years since President Felipe Calderon declared a war on drugs, since his declaration there have been countless drug related murders in Mexico, particularly around the border cities. On June 7, 2008, about two years after the inception of the war on drugs, Dallas News.com reported that opinion polls show that “Mexicans believe that the powerful and well-armed drug cartels are outgunning the government”[1]. The increased incidents of death and violence have left some Mexican residents feeling as though the government is losing the battle against the drug cartels.
On November 26, 2009 President Calderon announced that the remaining three years of his administration will focus on the living conditions of the country’s residents.[2] In recent years there has been an increase in the number of people living in poverty. As mention in a previous post, young men living in poverty are being recruited into the drug cartels as foot soldiers. President Calderon stated that he is not abandoning his fight against drugs; rather he is taking a different approach. The monetary benefits the drug cartels provide outweigh the enormous danger associated with being a member. Eliminating poverty would eliminate the benefits the drug cartel brings which in turn would eliminate the force behind the cartels.
Poverty, corruption, power, violence, and crime are all associated with Mexican drug cartels. There is no singular explanation for the rise of drug cartels which makes their destruction that much more complicated.
[1] Iliff, L. and Corchado, A. Mexican president losing war on drugs, polls indicate. The Dallas Morning News.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/stories/060708dnintmexpoll.2fade9e.html
[2] Stevenson, M. Mexican president says poverty now first priority. The Associated Press.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkHIwZXZJMX4LP5lUY27wkwm3q5gD9C71C6G0

MEXICO’S DEADLIEST CITY: Ciudad Juarez

Mexican trooops patrol Ciudad Juarez

Post 7:

Since the war on drugs was declared in Mexico cities on the United States-Mexico border have become one of the deadliest in all of Mexico. One city in particular is Ciudad Juarez, which borders the Texas city of El Paso. In the last few years Ciudad Juarez has been in the media for the numerous unsolved murders of young women, a phenomenon known as femicide. Many of these murders have not been linked to any of the cartels. The murders that have been linked to the drug cartels are the average of seven daily drug related homicides.[1]

Having the reputation of being Mexico’s deadliest city is not good for local businesses. According to the New York Daily News local Juarez businesses want to turn to the United Nations for help controlling the violence in their city. Business owners have come to this point of desperation after Mexico’s deployment of troops as well as the United States’ soldiers reinforcements have failed to decrease Ciudad Juarez’s murder rates.

On any given day Ciudad Juarez experiences an average of seven murders a day. On November 7, 2009 the Associated Press reported 15 murders in Ciudad Juarez.[2] The BBC experienced the violence of Ciudad Juarez during an evening ride along. The first scene they come up to is that of a dead body in a car. In total the reporters witnessed three murders in two different locations, including the murder of a seven year old boy. [3]

Great efforts have been done to reduce the number of murders in Ciudad Juarez, a city woth a death toll greater than the Iraq war. These efforts have yet to be successful. Rivalry among the cartels is a major contributor to the deaths in Ciudad Juarez. The murders in Ciudad Juarez will stop once the rivalry ends, whether it comes as a result of a merger between the cartels or the complete dismantling of them.

Murder in Ciudad Juarez

WORKS CITED:
[1] Roberts, S. Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez call for U.N. to help quell violence. New York Daily News.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/11/12/2009-11%2012_mexican_city_of_ciudad_juarez_calls_for_un_to_help_quell_violence.html.
[2] The Associated Press. 15 killed in one day in cartel-plagued Ciudad Juarez.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/mexico/stories/DN-mexico_15int.ART.State.Edition1.4b99883.html

[3] BBC News. On patrol in Mexico’s most dangerous city.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8362459.stm