...The Drug War: Will It Ever Stop? INTRODUCTION The United States and Mexico share a border that stretches 2,000 miles. The border is a product of the clash of the British and Spanish Empires. It is a place of lawlessness and violence. Drug cartels have used the border to smuggle illegal drugs into the United States for years. The United States market for drugs is a multibillion dollar a year industry. 90% of the illegal drugs that are smuggled into America come through our southern borders. As a nation we consume over 50% of the worlds illegal drugs, which exemplify the problem that America has with drug consumption. The demand for illegal drugs in the US allows drug cartels in Mexico to make billions of dollars by smuggling Marijuana, and Methamphetamines through the US/Mexican Border. Efforts to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the US have been unsuccessful. Drug Cartels use various methods in the transportation of their merchandise. Such methods include using underground tunnels, semi trucks, automobiles, and humans to transport these illegal drugs. Only 3 to 8 percent of the drugs that are smuggled from Latin America into the United States is confiscated, which is a very discouraging number. Our border patrol and DEA need to do a better job securing our borders and preventing the flow of such harmful drugs into America. There are a reported 7 cartels that operate in Mexico; the biggest players in the drug trade between Mexico and the US are the Tijuana, Juarez, Sinaloa...
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...What is the impact of Mexican drug cartels in the United States? Andres F Urueta Dr. Maugh LIB-495-GS001 December 5, 2014 Abstract This research paper examines the impact of Mexican drug cartels in the United States. Most Americans are not aware of how far reaching these cartels are in the United States. Their power has an influence in our government and communities. This project examines who the Mexican Drug cartels are, what their purpose is, where they have influences, and when did they start to become a problem for the United States. This paper also touches base on the impact of the drugs that are illegally brought into the United States by these cartels and their methods for justice. These cartels generate billions of dollars at the expense of Americans who become addicted to the drugs that are transported in the United states. Are these cartels a problem of the past or an indication of the future. Contents Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Literature Review Chapter 3 Research Design and Methodology Chapter 4 Results of Study Chapter 5 Summary and Discussion Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 6 Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction The Mexican drug cartels have been a cancer that has grown throughout Mexico. Influenced by Colombian cartels, such as the Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel. In 2008, over 5,600 people were killed in Mexico. Many of them were tortured or beheaded (Hixson, 2009). The cartels have stretched from the border town of Tijuana...
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...Diego Bustos Prof. Imogene Lim GLST 490 9th December, 2014 The Mexican Dream: Drug Cartels The American dream, a dream that does not come true for every man or woman that is in search of it. According to Ellies, the American dream represent: “each person has the right to pursue happiness, and the freedom to strive for a better life through hard work and fair ambition.” But, would not that same dream be the dream for Germans, French, Spanish, Brazilians and every single country in the world? The truth is that according to the level of access a person has in order to pursue happiness and to strive for a better life has been indisputably the gap among developed and undeveloped countries for decades. However, hard work does not seem to be the key factor to achieve happiness and/or a better life. Then, what does? During the beginning of the 1980’s decade, Mexico among other Latin-American countries started to adopt Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP) sponsored by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in response to the neo-liberal ideology that was starting to spread around the world as the avenue for global well-being. The World Health Organization states that Structural Adjustment Programs: “were economic policies for developing countries that have been promoted by the WB and IMF since the early 1980s by the provision of loans conditional on the adoption of such policies.” The economic policies promoted by the IMF and WB were meant to encourage the...
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...Life Inside of the Mexican Cartel Christian Thomasson American Public University System Life Inside of the Mexican Cartel The Mexican Drug War has been an ongoing armed conflict that is taking place among cartels that are feuding with one another for control of a specific region or regions. With the Mexican government seeking ways to combat the drug trafficking, more violence and rage is erupting among these groups who continue to fight for turf. Although United States military forces have attempted to intervene, new technology and communication devices gives these groups an edge on law enforcement. They are now able to communicate with their substations and various groups throughout the U.S. while their traffic goes undetected. This student will be discussing the various groups, their activities, and their communication tactics. Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel often described as the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere, is an alliance of some of Mexico’s top capos (McDermott et. al, 2011). The members of the coalition have been known to operate in concert to protect themselves, they also rely on high connections and corrupt law enforcement to keep the upper hand against rivals or those that attempt to infiltrate their operations. The state of Sinaloa has been named the center for contraband in Mexico, as well as the home for marijuana and poppy cultivation (McDermott...
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...Drug cartels have affected this world in many ways, such as drug trafficking between countries, drug cartel gangs, and the threat to many countries’ national security. Drug trafficking is a heated topic of this century and is mainly practiced in Central and South America. It is hard for the countries’ police forces to crack down on drug trafficking due to drug cartel gangs. Drug cartel gangs are spread out throughout the world. The gangs in Mexico have ties throughout the United States and many more countries. The drug cartel has gotten so powerful that it is considered a terrorist group by many countries. The main concern is members of the cartel spilling over into the United States of America. The drug cartels are responsible for overthrowing...
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...Mexican Drug Cartels Abstract Mexico has long been used as a transshipment point for narcotics and contraband between Latin America and United States markets. Over time, various organizations, also known as “Cartels” have become involved in the distribution, as well as transportation, of illegal drugs and firearms. The fight for power between these known cartels has led to many arrests and deaths of cartel leaders as well as their rivals. While many factors have contributed to the escalating violence, security analysts in Mexico City trace the rising scourge to the longtime implicit arrangement between narcotics traffickers and governments controlled by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which lost its grip on political power in the late 1980s. There was a decrease in the fighting during the late 1990s but the violence steadily worsened after the 2000s. Origin Birth of all Mexican drug cartels is traced to former Mexican Judicial Federal Police agent Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, also known as “The Godfather”. He founded the Guadalajara Cartel in 1980. He started off by smuggling marijuana and opium into the United States and was the first Mexican drug chief to link up with Colombia’s cocaine cartels, which were run by Pablo Escobar. At the time Felix Gallardo was considered the lord of all Mexican drug smugglers and was in charge of all operations; there was just him, his people, and the politicians who sold him protection. In 1985 the Guadalajara...
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...Mexico’s Drug War Drug trafficking has become an increasingly growing problem in the world today. Illegal drug trade is a worldwide black market consisting of production, distribution, packaging, and sale of illegal substances. Although today’s "War on Drugs" is a modern phenomenon, drug problems have been a common problem throughout history. The market for illegal drugs is massive, when we consider the estimated global drug trade value is worth $321 billion (Vulliamy). The most drug trafficking happens on the border between Mexico and the United States. Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon said, “Our neighbor is the largest consumer of drugs in the world. And everybody wants to sell him drugs through our door and our window” (Catholic Online). Mexico is the main foreign supplier of marijuana and a major supplier of methamphetamine to the United States. Mexico is responsible for 90% of drugs that comes from the southern border of the United States. Mexico has been a producer and distributer of illegal drugs for generations; the country now finds itself in a battle with powerful and well-financed drug cartels. The corruption in the Mexico, the trafficking of weapons and the violence has made it possible for cartels to keep operating. Since 2006, when president Calderon declared the war on drug cartels, violence in Mexico has increased dramatically. The country has certainly seen a big rise in drug violence, with cartels fighting for control of major shipment routes. Mexican...
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...Mexico’s Drug War Drug trafficking has become an increasingly growing problem in the world today. Illegal drug trade is a worldwide black market consisting of production, distribution, packaging, and sale of illegal substances. Although today’s "War on Drugs" is a modern phenomenon, drug problems have been a common problem throughout history. The market for illegal drugs is massive, when we consider the estimated global drug trade value is worth $321 billion (Vulliamy). The most drug trafficking happens on the border between Mexico and the United States. Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon said, “Our neighbor is the largest consumer of drugs in the world. And everybody wants to sell him drugs through our door and our window” (Catholic Online). Mexico is the main foreign supplier of marijuana and a major supplier of methamphetamine to the United States. Mexico is responsible for 90% of drugs that comes from the southern border of the United States. Mexico has been a producer and distributer of illegal drugs for generations; the country now finds itself in a battle with powerful and well-financed drug cartels. The corruption in the Mexico, the trafficking of weapons and the violence has made it possible for cartels to keep operating. Since 2006, when president Calderon declared the war on drug cartels, violence in Mexico has increased dramatically. The country has certainly seen a big rise in drug violence, with cartels fighting for control of major shipment routes. Mexican...
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...United States Drug Policy on Mexico and Colombia Drugs are not new to this Earth. Mankind has grown and consumed drugs for millennia. Marijuana, or more appropriately Cannabis, is indigenous to Central and South Asia, and has been consumed widely since 3000 B.C.E. (ElSohly 8). In more recent times (1938), Albert Hoffman synthesized Lysergic acid diethylamide, more commonly known as LSD, while searching for treatments for psychiatric diseases (Hoffman). Initially, many drugs were used in religious/spiritual functions. In several instances, the strong fibers of the Cannabis plant were used for building, much like jute, and the narcotic aspects of the plants were not even explored (ElSohly 8). However, today, drugs are frequently used recreationally, and as a result are highly profitable commodities. It is common knowledge that across the world, the vast majority of drugs are illegal or are restricted in some way. Almost nightly, proponents for the legalization of drugs, decriminalization of certain drugs, and the continued ban on drugs debate their positions through the media. This debate is a hot button issue that is almost entirely centered upon the views and policies of the world’s largest drug consumer, the United States of America (CIA Factbook). Governments and the media very often focus on drug consumption trends and drug flow into the United States, while largely ignoring Latin American perspectives and impacts on Latin America. Though drug production and drug use are major...
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...11/28/2010 Mexican Drug Wars In the early part of 2003 I went to the state of Michoacán in Mexico to visit my grandparents, because it had been since 1994 since I was last there. It was an incredible experience for me to once again see my family who many of them I’ve never met before. Never did I know that this might have been the last time that I would go visit them, no not because I didn’t want to but because of the circumstances surrounding the area of where my parents lived in. The reality was that Mexican Drug Cartel who has existed since the 1980s had become stronger and dangerous since newly elected Mexican President Felipe Calderon was in assumed office in December of 2006. Calderon hailing from that very state of Michoacán ordered 6,500 federal troops to the state of Michoacán to end the drug violence there. Ever since then, the drug violence between drug cartels and the Mexican Government has escalated to the highest extent. Although drug violence has existed long before the war with cartels and the government began, it was generally not as bad during the 1990s and early 2000s. This action is regarded as the first major operation against organized crime, and is generally viewed as the starting point of the war between the government and the drug cartels. As time progressed, Calderón continued to escalate his anti-drug campaign, in which there are now about 45,000 troops involved in addition of state and federal police forces. In 2010 Calderón said that the cartels seek...
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...Careless U.S Policies Feed Mexican Drug War The United States (U.S.) has created many careless policies that motivate the Mexican Drug War. Many Americans wonder why we should care about the violent problems that plaque our neighbors to the south. Considering that almost nineteen million Americans buy illegal drugs, United States Citizens are responsible for the booming illegal drug industry for Mexican cartels. Experts estimate that $832 million is spent by New Yorkers alone. With millions in profit margins, it’s easy to see that Americans are not only driving the drug trafficking, but contributing to Mexico’s violence. Mexico’s drug war was initiated in 2006 by then Mexican President Felipe Calderon, when he sent 6,500 Mexican Army soldiers to the state of Michoacán to terminate drug violence. Since then, the number of soldiers patrolling Mexico has increased to approximately 50, 000 troops. In 2008 the Merida Initiative began. The Initiative is a partnership between the United States of America and Mexico. It was created to help Mexico combat organized crime, decrease the violence associated with the criminal organizations and support human rights. U.S. Congress claims it has appropriated $2.5 million to Mexico since the start. The programs within the Initiative include but are not limited to: reform of justice personnel, anti-corruption programs and procedures, scanners and x-ray machines that allow non-invasive inspections at checkpoints and borders, almost...
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...Mexico’s Drug Cartel Dilemma Mexico has a major problem in their country. The problem is drug cartels and the drugs they are carrying with them. Mexico’s drug cartels are the most dangerous and lethal cartels of all other countries. They will do anything to get money, even killing innocent people for just a few thousand dollars. The government is trying to stop or contain the drug cartels, but the cartels seem to be resisting. They have influenced some of the Government officials to turn a blind eye to what is happening. Sadly, with the drug cartels, there are some negative effects on the local people of Mexico: most of the locals are either ran out of their homes, have been captured or forced to become a member of their cartels. If the...
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...Arms Trafficking between the United States and Mexico: The Drug Trafficking Nexus Transnational Crime and Globalization By: Katrina T. Mason May 2, 2008 The United States is quite known for their proactive stances on the “War on Drugs”, “War on Terror”, and “War in Iraq”. Some view them as the international police and others view them as the international fiend, but it is in no doubt that the United States takes a very active stance in fighting what they believe is evil and wrong within the world. This is increasingly true for the evils that occur within its own borders such as the continued drug epidemic, domestic violence, child abuse, poverty, gangs, and prostitution (with the exception of Nevada). Unfortunately though, the United States’ stance on legal activities crossing from their own governance into neighboring states where the activity is illegal is not held with the same level of concern or dedication. A primary example of this double standard can be seen on the Mexican-United States border. This is not in reference to the debris from the giant wall being built on the Mexican border falling to the southern side, the young Americans fleeing across the borders to intoxicate themselves, or even the revolution of McDonalds springing up in towns throughout Mexico; but instead to the small arms and light weapons trafficking continually flowing down from the border states into Mexico causing alarming murder rates, economical...
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...Abstract War on drugs has been a problem in the United States. The prospect then was that drug trafficking in the United States could be significantly reduced in a small amount of time through federal The amount has been enormous in times of lives, our money and the welfare of countless Americans, particularly the poor and less educated. By most accounts, the gains from the war have been modest at best. Identity one drug cartel, and explain The Zetas began out as an enforcer gang for the Gulf Cartel predominantly composed up of former Special Forces operatives. Their military education and uncontrolled cruelty showed an underworld match changer, with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) relating them as possibly "the most technologically...
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...Nixon initiated the War on Drugs. More than a decade later, President Ronald Reagan launches the South Florida Drug Task force, headed by then Vice-President George Bush, in response to the city of Miami’s demand for help. In 1981, Miami was the financial and import central for cocaine and Marijuana. Thanks to the task force, drug arrests went up by 27%, and drug seizures went up by 50%. With that, the need for prosecutors and judges also rose which helped boost our economy (Thirty Years of America’s Drug War). Despite these increased arrests and seizures, marijuana and cocaine still poured into south Florida. At this stage, the root of the problem was the Columbian Cartels, and they weren't attacked; the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) soon realized that they needed to suppress the cartels. In 1982, the DEA went to Columbia to eradicate fields of marijuana and coca plants; these fields were located and burned. The hard part now, was finding the labs used to turn the coca leaves into cocaine. These labs were in very remote locations, to avoid any surveillance. On March 10,1984 the DEA finally was able to track down the chemicals used to process cocaine in one of the labs, they seized twelve tons of cocaine; it was the DEA’s biggest take down yet. Despite the DEA’s hard word and efforts the availability of cocaine on American streets remained the same. The Cartel leaders had money, and began to acquire power; they even run for political office and won. Drug dollars poured into Columbia...
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