Ever since the war on drugs was started, most of the battle has been concentrated in Latin America, leaving trails of devastation from deep within Latin America up to the largest consumer of those substances. After years of fighting, and series’ of more and more aggressive policies put into place by the United States, drugs are just as prevalent if not more so than when the war began. Illegal drugs are still easy to obtain, demand for such substances has skyrocketed and cartels are becoming increasingly affluent. Drug violence since 2006 has resulted in the death of more than 60,000 people. Clearly, our current policies in waging this war are not effective, we have spent over 35 billion dollars over the course of 2013 to attempt to combat drug cartels and decrease the amount of violent crime that occurs due to cartel influence.
Central American countries have begun to be afflicted by drug smuggling, even Costa Rica, which doesn’t have a standing army, have begun to see the violence that cartels bring along with them. Several countries have ceded this war, in an attempt to take an alternate approach, appeasement. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos supports decriminalization of cocaine and Guatemalan President Otto Fernando Pérez Molina had said, that he was open to the legalization, and transport of drugs throughout Guatemala. A summit was called by Guatemalan leaders in order to address the potential of a unified approach to drug trafficking. Due to pressure from the US government, most countries withdrew from this summit, which took place in 2012 with Guatemalan, Colombian, and Panamanian officials in attendance. El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua were expected to be in attendance, but pulled out under the pressure of the...
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... own group. They have been collaborating extensively with the Sinaloa Cartel. They control the narrow but geographically significant area in Tamaulipas from Matamoras to Reynosa. The Gulf Cartel is often seen as the “white knight” group as they don’t brutalize the surrounding populous as Los Zetas do, and as the Sinaloa Cartel tends to do as well.
Many of the cartels throughout Mexico are enemies, trying to hang onto their market slice, and willing to fight to the death to hold onto it. Money laundering is something that used quite often in order to minimize any complications regarding the amounts of money that change hands. Even if the US’s “War on Drugs” does work out, unless there is a international policy to deal with the drug trade and the groups that that trade is tied to, no lasting impact can be made on the ability of cartels to make a killing off of it.
The Los Zetas cartel consists of some of the most deadly men in Mexico. Comprised and founded by rogue Mexican Special Ops soldiers they branched off from their former employers (The Gulf cartel) and are now fighting for their territory. Based in Matamoros the Gulf Cartel was the original heavy hitter of Mexico's cartels. Currently the Gulf Cartel is in an ongoing war with the Los Zetas. Lead by El Chapo the Sinaloa Cartel is the current leader of the drug trade in all of Mexico. The cartels are fighting the Mexican government for power over the country. Federal agents target cartels and are able to weaken them but just before the agents can take over a rival cartel comes in and takes the territory starting the whole process over again. The cartels act like a Hydra Kill one Head and two will take its
The lengths the drug cartels go to are insane and radical. They will do nearly anything to stay out of trouble and gain as much money as possible. Some people think that the United States are in trouble if we legalize marijuana, they have come to the conclusion that the cartels will do anything to take out the stores. Believe it or not there are some positives that the cartel brings to Mexico but you would have to be delusional to think that they outweigh the negatives. In conclusion violence, business industries, and political corruption brought by the Drug Cartels have all been effects on the economy of Mexico.
The cartels in Mexico over the past years have gotten increasingly brutal. As worldwide demand for illegal drugs increases, so does the violence. There are two major rival cartels currently campaigning to take over Mexico. Popular music lyrics glorify the cartel and attract new young members. Cartels have begun to diversify and are finding new ways to make money and control even larger segments of Mexican industry. Ordinary Mexicans citizens are fed up with all this nonsense, though afraid of the consequences of going against the cartel. Education standards must be raised, so students gain skills and knowledge, allowing them to seek better opportunities. Even though the new president of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, has tried to combat these cartels, it still isn't enough. If nothing gets done the cartel will eventually rule all of Mexico.
The Mexican drug cartels have been smuggling drugs across the boarder of Mexico to the United States of America for decades. The Mexican drug cartels are a drug smuggling criminal organization. In other words they run a narcotic drug business. * In my research, I will be discussing about the money being laundered by the Mexican drug cartels from the U.S. to Mexico. The cartels need to launder their money in order to be able to take their drug money back to their country of Mexico.
Mexico has a long history of cartels the deaths, drugs and weapon trafficking is in all time high increasing year by year. “Mexico's gangs have flourished since the late 19th century, mostly in the north due to their proximity to towns along the U.S.-Mexico border. But it was the American appetite for cocaine in the 1970s that gave Mexican drug cartels immense power to manufacture and transport drugs across the border. Early Mexican gangs were primarily situated in border towns where prostitution, drug use, bootlegging and extortion flourished” (Wagner). They keep themselves armed and ready with gun supplies shipped from the U.S, taking control of the drug trades. The violence is spilling so out of control that they overthrew the Mexican government.
If one looks at statistical value of the deaths that occur occasionally, one can conclude that there is not enough being done to punish the Mexican cartels. The ones responsible to handle the arrest of such criminals are the police. There are possible reasons as to why law enforcement officers are not getting the job done. It can range from police corruption or to the idea that the police do not have what it takes to bring safety to the community. Trust is major factor for Mexican citizens who want to walk the streets and not fear that may be the last day on earth. The struggle for power is what prevents citizens from helping police and are scared to talk for fear of being targeted by the cartels or
Over the last several decades, violence has consumed and transformed Mexico. Since the rise of dozens of Mexican cartels, the Mexican government has constantly been fighting an ongoing war with these criminal organizations. The cartel organizations have a primary purpose of managing and controlling illegal drug trafficking operations in Central America and South America to the United States. Violence on a massive and brutal scale has emerged due to the nature of the illegal drug trade. Because the drug trade is vastly widespread, cartels are often fighting one another and competing in business. Mexican authorities count at least 12 major cartels, but also talk of an untold numbers of smaller splinter groups. (Taipei Times). Five cartels from Mexico have risen to become the extremely powerful amongst all the drug organizations operating in Mexico. The Guadalajara Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Tijuana Cartel, the Juarez Cartel, and the Gulf Cartel. These organizations, along with other distinguished Mexican cartels, have plagued Mexico with violence, terror, and fear due to the essence and nature of illegal drug trafficking.
Beith, Malcolm. “The Current State of Mexico’s Many Drug Cartels.” Insight Crimes. n.p., 25 Sep.
In Jeanette Schmidt’s article, Transporting Cocaine states, “Colombian cartels would pay the Mexican groups as much as $1,000/kilo to smuggle cocaine into the United States” (Schmidt, 2). The Colombian cartels would then pick up the drugs and resume distribution and sales efforts, making personal profits that are unrecorded. In order to seize these individuals who are growing in power and numbers, the U.S. must control the connections between Mexico and Columbia. Mexico is the biggest transporter amongst Columbia and the U.S. because it shares a border with the U.S. This increasingly poisonous drug trafficking leads to drug dealers...
Since it’s beginning, the war on drugs has been a series of lost battles. Failed expectations in Panama, Colombia and Bolivia provide glaring examples.
Over the last decade, Southwest border violence has elevated into a national security concern. Much of the violence appears to stem from the competing growth and distribution networks that many powerful Mexican drug cartels exercise today. The unfortunate byproduct of this criminality reaches many citizens of the Mexican border communities in the form of indiscriminate street gang shootings, stabbings, and hangings which equated to approximately 6,500 deaths in 2009 alone (AllGov, 2012). That same danger which now extends across the border regions of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and California has the potential for alarming escalation. Yet, despite the violence, evermore-brazen behavior continues to grow, as does America’s appetite for drugs. Even though drug-related violence mandates that law enforcement agencies focus on supply reduction, the Office of National Drug Control Policy should shift its present policy formulation efforts to only drug demand reduction because treatment and prevention efforts are inadequate and strategy has evolved little over the last three decades.
"For the commercial insurgency, border controls are perfunctory in "free trade" areas, and there is still a great demand for goods that are linked to smuggling" (PRISM Issue No 3). President Calderon's term in office has seen numerous arrests and significant cooperation with U.S. law enforcement, and intelligence activities, which has negated the freedom of movement the cartels once enjoyed. It has also prompted them to seek other venues to keep their revenue flowing. The arrests aren't without criticisms. Due to recent arrests of ...
In the Ted talk called, The Deadly Genius of Drug Cartels, with the speaker Rodrigo Canales, he talks about the following; the violence of the drug cartels, the financial businesses of the drug cartels, and how they're successful with the U.S is involved. First, in the Ted Talk, Rodrigo Canales speaks about the violence of Mexico from the past six years which is caused by the drug dealers. The violence is caused by the drug dealers because it's key to them to have good brand management and having a strong group organization, therefore causing them to be violent. Also, the amount of violence in Mexico was caused by the drug dealers causing 100,000 innocent casualties, which is more deaths than the Iraq war. Next, in this Ted Talk, the speaker Rodrigo Canales explains the financial businesses of the drug cartels and how they're successful and how the U.S is involved with the drug cartels to make the cartels financially stable.
They each control various cities in Mexico and along the US-Mexican border. For the sake of this report, the Gulf cartel will be discussed. The Gulf cartel is one of the major organized crime organizations in Mexico whose prime interest is drug trafficking, with their main operations in Nuevo Laredo, Miguel Alemán, Reynosa, and Matamoros (Brophy, 2008). Although the Gulf cartel is powerful enough with their large numbers of followers, places of operation, and weapons, they also work together with another group called the Zetas. The Zetas can be classified as mafia style group that specializes in one type of commodity, and in this case, the commodity is protection (Brophy, 2008). They defend the Gulf cartel and their territory, as well as act as their hitmen and assassins, and engage in kidnapping, trafficking arms, money-laundering, drug dealing, and collecting payments (Brophy, 2008). With both of these powerful groups controlling many parts of Mexico, the drug trafficking community is intense, violent, and the cities often suffer dire consequences when in conflict with the groups. The illegality of the drug trade has largely to do with the extreme amount of violence when it comes to feuding drug cartels and law enforcement (Brophy, 2008). The Gulf cartel and the Zetas are not only powerful due to their weapons and violence, but they have a great mount of influence as well, especially though politics, and this will be discussed further in the report. With the Gulf cartel being but one of many threats in Mexico, the country is also affected in many others ways not only by the cartels, but by the United States as
Many people know of cartels and drug trafficking, however, they do not realize how serious of a problem it is becoming. Every day there are hundreds of drugs transported into the United States from Latin America, mostly coming from Mexico and Columbia. These cartels are becoming smarter and more creative with their ways of smuggling drugs. They have become ruthless and will do whatever it takes to get their supplies into the country. To better understand how cartels work, you must understand their ways of transporting drugs and how creative they have become with it. Cartels will go as far as using tunnels, boats, planes, vehicles, donkeys and mules to transport all of their drugs.