Mexico getting tough: Government cracking down on drug cartels

In an attempt to control the war surrounding drug cartels and organized crime, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico has deployed soldiers of the Mexican military to border drug-ridden towns such as Ciudad Juarez.

Over the past few weeks, Calderon has sent some 30,000 soldiers and federal officers to dozens of states throughout Mexico.

In Mexican cities such as Tijuana, Reynosa and Matamoros, organized crime-related violence continues to rise. Newsweek estimates that across the country last year, some 2,500 people were killed in organized crime-related violence. Newsweek also reports that not even four months into the new year, unofficial tallies are as high as 850 deaths.

Mexico’s financial economy has led to corruption among some of its citizens, political officials and even law enforcement officers. Drug dealing and trafficking between drug cartels has contributed to the rising level of violence amongst rival gangs.

“Mexico is really a third-world country and the standard of living is low,” said Dwight Hahn, assistant professor of political science at John Carroll University. “Drug trafficking has been long standing. Officials and police enforcers are so poorly paid, so the ability to corrupt officials is large,” he added.

Another problem that Calderon faces is the ability to corrupt soldiers. Newsweek reported that in 2007, more than 18,000 soldiers deserted, and reports of deserters joining the drug cartels as “zetas,” or hired guns, are growing.

“Unfortunately it’s probably the case that local and federal police forces have been corrupted by drug trade,” said Hahn. “That’s why the federal government has been relying on the use of the Mexican army. The problem with this is that political officials are bribed and corrupted,” he said.

Despite an increase in the number of deserting military members who join the drug cartels as zetas, there are still many men staying the course and attempting to protect the Mexican cities that have been infested with crime from drug lords and traffickers.

Illegal narcotics such as marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines are hot commodities for drug dealers.

Not only are these narcotics being sold in Mexico, but drug traffickers are crossing the U.S. border to aid one of its largest clients, the American people.

“I think as long as the U.S. treats drugs as a criminal problem rather than a public health problem, the black market will always provide a high incentive for drug trafficking from and through Mexico,” said Hahn. “The demand is right here among us. It’s our friends and families.”

This demand from many American citizens comes from across the entire country, and includes citizens from Northeast Ohio. This increased usage of illegal narcotics from Mexico has brought violence to parts of America.

Many southwestern states near the border have been affected by the drug war and violence from the Mexican cartels.

“It’s a war among rival drug cartels and that has spilled over to the U.S. a little, but for the most part the violence has stayed in Mexico,” said Bob Kolesar, assistant professor of history and director of the honors program at JCU. “The Mexican government is trying to solve this now with the army, but at this point it has created more violence.”

Despite the violence, Americans continue to use illegal narcotics from Mexico, which are transported across the border in a number of ways.
Modes of exportation include transporting supplies by cars and trucks that are driven directly across the border and drug mules. The 2,000 miles of the U.S.-Mexican border poses a problem of stopping the illegal shipment of drugs into America.

“We’ve had an explosion of truck traffic because of trade, and you can’t inspect every truck or car,” said Kolesar.

“The United States is the market, and it’s about getting drugs to the market that pay for it. Our criminalization of drugs has created a lucrative market, and the illegal drug trade is estimated to be a very large part of our economy. It’s much higher than what we would suspect,” Kolesar added.