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The Mexican Drug War is an ongoing conflict between criminal groups which operate within the Mexican drug trade. These groups are commonly referred to as drug cartels or drug trafficking organizations (DTOs).1 The rival drug cartels fight over control of “areas of influence”,2 strategic strongholds for the drug business. The majority of these areas are pockets along the 200-mile long Mexican border with the United States.

Origins

The drugs that circulate through Mexico originate from the south, primarily the from South American countries of Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil.1 The majority of these drugs travel north into Mexico and then into the United States. The trade of these illicit drugs is one portion of the overarching illegal drug trade that spans the globe. Mexico serves as a transit route

Cultural Influence

In Latin American culture, the relationship of the extended family functions as a tight knit unit. Mexican drug cartels act along familial and kinship lines. Feuds between the drug cartels that make up the Mexican drug war have been known to last for months, years, and even decades as a result of the inherent allegiance to family.

Machismo, masculine pride, plays a large role in Mexican culture. In terms of the Mexican Drug War, many killings revolve around personal disputes rather than business conflicts.3 Just as cartels are established along familial lines, they fight as familial units against others who threaten their hold on drug routes and markets.

Effects on the Mexican Population

The effects of the Mexican Drug War have increased in scale in recent years. The violence has gone from affecting innocent civilians to whole towns. Some communities have experienced systematic occupation by drug cartels, whom have taken over such crucial institutions as public offices and the police department.2

This large-scale _ has exposed widespread corruption in Mexico. Numerous police and military officials have been discovered working with drug traffickers. This lack of just authority destabilizes these areas of Mexico and perpetuates the Mexican Drug War and its infiltration into everyday life.

Violence

The illegal drug trade in Mexico has resulted in violence and chaos. This violence is present in Mexico as well as in the United States.

Rationale for Violence

Drug trafficking is an anarchic system with no overarching authority controlling it. There are no laws or governing principles that determine how to handle disputes. Therefore, although violence is not an inherent part of the system, it has become a consequence of illicit drug trading as a means to settle conflicts.

The violence in Mexico that has ensued as part of the drug trade is a consequence of the culture, geographic location, and history of Mexico. Mexican drug cartels have proven to be indiscriminate in their acts of violence. The only rationale which experts have been able to discern is that these acts of violence aim to make a statement, to inflict collateral damage.3

Escalation of Violence

The violence in Mexico has escalated at alarming rates in recent years. Between December 2006 and July 2010 an estimated 28,000 people were killed in drug-trafficking related violence.1

One of the greatest setbacks in ending the Mexican Drug War has been that in response to attempts at government interdiction, drug cartels have enacted more violence to assert their power and express their refusal to accede to laws and regulations and norms.

US Involvement in the Mexican Drug Trade

The violence in Mexico has many roots in the United States. These sources include the weapons utilized in the violence, the personnel who make up the criminal organizations, and the

Arms

A significant number of weapons used in the conflict in Mexico originate in the United States.3 These weapons travel to Mexico through the illegal arms trade. Illicit arms trafficking from the United States to Mexico has been made possible by the United States and Mexico signed an agreement in 1994 to abide by the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Military Personnel

A great proportion of the men involved in the Mexican drug cartels are experts in violence and crime. An estimated one in three drug traffickers in Mexico has received military training or has military experience.3 Many of these men were trained in the United States.

In this system of sale and consumption, American gangs across the nation are the consumers of the drugs that Mexico sells.

Governmental Response

Felipe Calderón

Current Mexican President Felipe Calderón has taken many actions towards curbing the Mexican drug trade. One main initiative he has implemented is prevention programs that emphasize providing treatment and care to drug addicts. He views drug users as victims rather than at fault for the drug trade. He aims to end the drug trade by helping to reduce Mexican citizens’ dependence on illicit drugs and consequently decrease the demand for drugs.4

President Calderón has also initiated many education programs, with a strong focus on school age children, to combat drug temptation with education. Studies have shown that youth between the ages of twelve and seventeen are the most likely to experiment with drugs. The aim of these education programs is to inform this vulnerable population and deter them from subsuming to drugs.4

Bilateral Action by Mexico and the United States

War on Drugs

Former Mexican President Luis Echeverría and American President Richard Nixon in 1972 declared a war on drugs, a campaign to end drug use and the trade that fuels it.

Merida Initiative

The Merida Initiative is a bilateral agreement established by American President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderón. The Merida Initiative encompasses allocation of American funds to Mexico and nearby susceptible areas such as Central America, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

Components of the Merida Initiative include:5

• Equipment for inspection and surveillance
• Canines to “interdict trafficked drugs, arms, cash, and persons”
• Funds to bolster technology aimed to “improve and secure communications systems that collect criminal information”
• US “technical advice and training” in order to strengthen a new police force
• Witness protection programs for Mexico, and
• Corresponding software and supplemental technologies
• Aircrafts for the purpose of detection and quick response time of law enforcement agencies
• “Equipment, training, and community action programs” to educate on and deter gang membership while thwarting current gang actions

Significance of the Merida Initiative

Symbolically this initiative represents shared responsibility and cooperation between Mexico and the United States, a key factor in progressing towards drug free countries.

Violence

Drug trafficking is an anarchic system with no overarching authority controlling it. There are no laws or governing principles that determine how to handle disputes. Therefore, although violence is not an inherent part of the system, it has become a consequence of it as a means to settle conflicts. Violence or the threat of it serves translates to “security, internal order, and power”4 for drug cartels.

The violence in Mexico that has ensued as part of the drug trade is a consequence of the culture, geographic location, and history of Mexico. Mexican drug cartels have proven to be indiscriminate in their acts of violence. Their sole concern is in making a point, in inflicting “collateral damage”.4 As more drugs become available, with higher potency and more addictive properties, the drug trade has grown stronger and the ensuing violence has followed.

This violence has escalated to alarming rates in recent years. Between December 2006 and July 2010 an estimated 28,000 people were killed in drug-trafficking related violence.5

The roots of this violence stem largely from the United States. It has been found that a significant number of weapons used in the conflict in Mexico originate in the United States.4 This arms trafficking, similar to the illicit drug trafficking, is a global issue. The trade ties in to other issues, namely trade agreements between the United States and Mexico such as the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the hot button issues of migration and border control. A great proportion of the men involved in the drug cartels are experts in violence and crime. An estimated one in three drug traffickers in Mexico has received military training or has military experience.4 Many of these men were trained in the United States. In this system of sale and consumption, American gangs across the nation are the consumers of the drugs that Mexico sells.

Machismo, masculine pride, plays a large role in Mexican culture. In terms of the Mexican Drug War, many killings revolve around personal disputes rather than business conflicts.4 Just as cartels are established along familial lines, they fight as familial units against others who threaten their hold on drug routes and markets.

Governmental Response

Curbing the drug trade is high on current Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s agenda. He has implemented many prevention programs, with an emphasis on providing treatment and care to drug addicts. His view is that drug dealers are at fault for these problems, and drug users are the victims in the equation. By helping to reduce their dependence on drugs, the demand will decrease, and the trade will die out. Calderón has also initiated many education programs, with a strong focus on school age children, to combat drug temptation with education. Youth between the ages of twelve and seventeen are the most likely to experiment with drugs, so the aim is that informing this vulnerable population will deter them from subsuming to drugs.

Former Mexican President Luis Echeverría and American President Richard Nixon in 1972 declared a war on drugs, a campaign to end drug use and the trade that fuels it. More recently, the Merida Initiative is a bilateral agreement established by American President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderón. The Merida Initiative encompasses allocation of American funds to Mexico and nearby susceptible areas such as Central America, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Its components include: equipment for inspection and surveillance as well as canine to “interdict trafficked drugs, arms, cash, and persons.” Funds to bolster technology aimed to “improve and secure communications systems that collect criminal information.” Additionally US “technical advice and training” has been provided in order to strengthen a new police force, witness protection programs for Mexico, and corresponding software and supplemental technologies. On top of this the initiative includes aircrafts for the purpose of detection and quick response time of law enforcement agencies. “Equipment, training, and community action programs” to educate on and deter gang membership while thwarting current gang actions.6 Symbolically this initiative represents shared responsibility and cooperation between the United States and Mexico, a key factor in progressing towards drug free countries.

One of the greatest setbacks in ending the Mexican Drug War has been that in response to attempts at government interdiction, drug cartels have enacted more violence to assert their power and express their refusal to accede to laws and regulations and norms.