Introduction:
For over a decade now, the Mexican drug war has been a hindrance on the stability of Mexico’s society. The Drug Was have not only put the lives of Mexicans in danger, but also the stability of their government and economy. With the the War on Drugs posing an issue that the United States has involved itself in, there is an inherent step that should be taken to understand the damages of the cartels in Mexico. Even though the violent conflict of the drug wars cannot be formally felt in the United States, the effects of the distribution of drugs and other illicit products is damaging to American society. There is a form a responsibility that should be felt to take the initiative to stop the damaging influences of this war.
A Brief History
Mexico has long been a central location for the shipment and trade of narcotics between Latin America and the United States. Between the 1970s and 80s, Colombia’s organized system of exporting cocaine all over the world was compromised, creating a distribution network in alliance with Mexican cartels. The system of Mexican cartels depends on the balance of power. New cartels will rise up as the more powerful organizations as the older ones weaken and disband. Any sort of disruption in the system (types of arrests, or deaths of cartel members, etc.) will create violence among the cartels involved. The escalation of the violence can be attributed to the disbandment of the longtime relationship between the narcotics traffickers and the dominant political party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). This type of brutal violence did not take full force until the arrest of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo in 1989 who ran the extensive cocaine business in Mexico. The fighting has become increasingly worse since 2000 (“Mexico Drug War Fast Facts”).
The PRI had “ruled” Mexico for almost 70 years up until the 2000 presidential election. During this chaotic time period, the cartels expanded their power throughout Mexican society, deepening their influence on corruption. By the time of the presidential election, the PRI had lost their influence in the executive branch and the right-wing Nation Action Party (PAN) won. The win by Felipe Calderón changed the handling on the cartels. This began the transition into cracking down on the cartel activities by various means (Lee).
In 2006, Calderòn declared war on the Mexican drug cartels and would take the first steps into the Mexican Drug War. The president sent Mexican Army soldiers into the state of Michoacán as an attempt to end the drug violence there. Continuing with his anti-drug campaign, Calderòn escalated his use of the military to 45000 troops as well as the use of state and federal police forces (Lakhani). The strategy has splintered many of the cartels into much smaller groups, counting as many as sixty to eighty smaller gangs. This would intensify the violence between the various groups as well as turning to more brutal instances of violence. There is still much more that the government attempts to do in the wake of cartel violence, but met with large amounts of resistance and contradicts any improvement to ending the war (Lee).
In 2012, Peña Nieto won the presidential election, allowing the PRI to gain control in government once again. No longer was the emphasis on stopping the cartel leaders, but on reducing the violence against innocent civilians and businesses. Even though it would appear that this method would rely less on the military, Peña Nieto has used the army in full force as well as the police forces. The violence subdued ever so slightly in the first years of Peña Nieto’s presidency, but in 2016 it had been reported from the government that there had been around 23000 cartel-related deaths. This was a major spike; up 22.8% from the year prior (Grillo). The violent cartels have posed major consequences on the Mexican people and the government’s attempts to subdue the threats have proved ineffective.
Effects of the Cartels/Government Intervention
The extensive amount of violence between the government’s forces and the cartel has lead to massive casualties. Numbers provided by the Mexican government claim “that nine out of ten victims of the Mexican Drug War are members are organized-crime groups,” (“Mexico Drug War Fast Facts”) but this has been questioned by multiple sources as to whether the government’s inherent use of corruption is at play. The age of technology has allowed cartels to use the Internet to spread intimidation. Videos of cartel-style executions are posted to YouTube as well as other “shock sites” used for the graphic footage that YouTube sometimes will not broadcast. This extensive use of deadly violence is damaging foreign investments in Mexico. The Mexican Finance Minister, Agustín Carstens, informed that “the deteriorating security alone is reducing gross domestic product annually by one percent in Mexico, Latin America’s second-largest economy,” (Lakhani). The influence on the the part of the economy by the cartels deepens itself in other aspects of Mexican society.
Corruption is inherent in Mexican culture through local government all the way to the federal institutions. The cartels make use of this and in exchange can keep solidity in their power while even fighting against the government. To advance their interests, the cartels will corrupt or intimidate law enforcement through bribes and other means. Officials on all levels with work together with the cartels in a formulated, organized network of corruption. According to a report that was conducted by the United States Army Intelligence, “over a six-year period, of the 250000 soldiers in the Mexican Army, 150000 deserted and went into the drug industry, (Lee).” Even with the the attempts to eliminate the vast amount of corruption, the damaging effects of the cartels and drug-controlling policies are conjuring vast amounts of human rights violations as well.
The policies that have been formulated as a result of the Mexican Drug War have taken away much of the decision-making from the civilian drug control programs to the military which has in return enacted policies that have committed serious human rights violations. In many places, it is not unlikely to witness the abuses of sex workers, physical and sexual extortion for accessing injection equipment, or practicing sex work. The immense amount of power that is held in the executive branch of the government and the corruption in all branches of government contributes to these violations. The police forces use torture and threats alongside the military, with no effectiveness in the judiciary to uphold the basic human rights. It can often be seen that ethnically speaking, the indigenous groups in Mexico are often targeted first (Lee). This long-running stance of corruption and torture has become inherent within the Mexican society, but can not forget the personal tolls individuals face as they are confronted with the issues of the Mexican Drug War.
Due to increasing illicit activities, the Northern Border states have seen the increased levels of drug consumption and abuse. These increasing levels of substance abuse are met with rising levels of HIV and STIs among these drug users and sex workers. These groups have become increasingly vulnerable to extortion by the police. There is limited access to public health facilities needed for treatment for those affected by the illicit drug use. Infections have spread further through the states in Mexico due to the rotation of police and military forces throughout the regions. Medical issues due to the Mexican Drug War have made themselves extremely harmful to large amounts of individuals throughout the various states, but it is all sorts of violence forcing innocent civilians to be victims of the brutal war (Lee).
What many people remember about the violence in Mexico is the harm of journalists and the media. It has been researched that in the early years of the 21st century, Mexico was known to be “the most dangerous country in the world to practice journalism.” It is not uncommon for journalists to be kidnapped, brutally murdered, or threatened for attempting to cover cartel-related news. Most journalists that are harmed by the cartels are in print-journalism rather than television. There has not been much action into investigating these murders as corruption plagues the government from interfering (Lee).
Why Does It Matter?
This current affair is one that is not separated from the United States in any way. There is no ocean separating the conflict, no long distance keeping the US in the unknown. It is a conflict that can be clearly seen from all aspects and is a cause that the United States has shown interest in it domestically as well. We have attempted to conquer this “War on Drugs,” and even though unsuccessful, it is important to realize the devastation that the Mexican Drug War has brought to their citizens. We are given the opportunity to recognize the issues that face our neighbor and can be given the chance to improve the issue domestically as well as internationally. It is important to also note that we bear some of the responsibility with the large amounts of money and aid that we have given to the Mexican government for the Merida Initiative, despite the clear evidence of human rights violations (Lakhari). The United States has always prided itself on being a champion for destroying what goes against our values. If this is the case, why have we not taken the chance to pay attention to the bloodshed that is seemingly in our backyard?
With a closer look at what have been the devastating consequences of the drug wars, it is clear that there is a significance in taking a more involved approach in what the United States should do. Our involvement in this crisis can foster new developments for both countries. The United States is in partnership with Mexico because of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The drug wars have left the Mexican economy in the hands of illegal trade and many without a stable form of income. This is important to the United States as we can take the opportunity to aid Mexico in this time of distress to not only foster better trade, but to rebuild an unstable economy. The debilitating public health crisis is not only an issue for Mexico, but for the United States as well because of the transportation of these narcotics. We are met with a difficult task to take on because of our close relation to Mexico, but it is one that should be formally addressed.
It brings up the question as to what our involvement in other drug wars should really be. The United States has taken the stance to combat against the use of illicit substances. This can only be furthered if the distribution of drugs is diminished. By not furthering our interests in this continual crisis, we are allowing the drug wars to take hold of a variety of aspects in Mexican society. It is our duty as a neighboring country to investigate the issues affecting Mexico since they pose a direct threat to American safety as well. In the wake of the Opioid Epidemic, it is apparent that the distribution of illegal drugs is harming not only thousands of Mexicans, but harming those who are users in the United States. If we have expressed a desire to stop illicit drug use, we must stop the source.
Conclusion
The Mexican Drug War has become a conflict that has touched almost every aspect of Mexican society. The violence and corruption that has been brought about because of this crisis has extended over a decade now and only seems to get worse. As a neighboring country, the United States has unfortunately involved itself in the transportation of harmful substances from Mexico. There is a duty placed on the United States to end this perpetual cycle of aiding in the facilitation of this atrocious war.