Mexican Drug Trafficking

Rocio Duarte

Ms. Kurkjian

World Studies-6

22 January 2016

“ If you look at the drug war from a purely economic point of view, the role of the government is to protect the drug cartel” - Milton Friedman. This is a quote about the drug war going on in Mexico that was caused by drug trafficking. What are some of the effects of drug trafficking Mexico you might ask yourself. Violence, a drug war, and powerful cartels are effects of drug trafficking. Sinaloa, Mexico. It’s the place where the primary narco chiefs began. But, it’s also the place where drug trafficking began. Even though it began in Sinaloa, drug trafficking has spread all over the country. The only places that are considered “safe” in Mexico are Puebla, Merida,

He was born on December 1, 1949 in Antioquia, Colombia. Escobar started his drug trade in the 1970s. Escobar and other criminals got together to form the Medellin Cartel. 80% of the cocaine shipped to the United States came from the Medellin Cartel. Before he became a drug dealer, he had dreams of becoming the president of Colombia. But his path to wanting to be wealthy led to being a criminal. He started off as a street thief. He stole cars and eventually started smuggling cigarettes. Once he became a drug dealer, 15 tons of cocaine were supposedly smuggled everyday. The cartel earned $420 million a week because of this. He was chosen as a member of the Colombian congress in 1982. Since he couldn't hide why he was so wealthy, he was forced to resign two years after his election. Escobar eventually surrendered in 1991 to the Colombian government. He was allowed to create his own prison instead of being killed. His prison had a casino, spa, and nightclub. Escobar escaped in 1992. The Medellin Cartel eventually began to disintegrate because of Escobar’s imprisonment. Pablo Escobar was killed on December 2,

This is another effect of drug trafficking. The drug war began on December 11, 2006 and is between drug cartels that are fighting over who has more power. The war was launched by former president Felipe Calderon and has been continued by current president Enrique Pena Nieto. During the years 2006 and 2012, 60,000 people are believed to have died because of the war. This drug war has caused nationwide violence. Citizens in Mexico are teaming up to protect the streets of where they live from the drug cartels. These groups of people are called “autodefensas”. But not all of these groups are trying to protect the citizens. Two major autodefensa groups are fighting over land, causing more violence, and some of these groups sometimes resort to cartel-like strategies such as blackmailing, kidnapping, and even drug