Essay on The Effects of Cartels in Mexico - 2350 Words

In ten years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, 6,335 US soldiers have been killed in combat. In less than half that span of time, from December 2006 to December 2010, approximately 38,000 Mexican citizens were killed by cartel related violence. Even without counting the many thousands of Mexicans who were killed before December 2006, the War on Drugs, over ten years, will be fifteen times deadlier than the War on Terror. The level of violence near the border is unacceptable and the United States must share the blame. The rising death toll serves as the proof of what certain people have been saying for years: both the Mexican and American governments need to change their strategy in order to minimize the presence of drug cartels and to†¦show more content†¦For Mexican drug cartels, this is great news. They stand to turn an extremely large profit: 1000% to 10,000%. With profits in the billions of untaxed dollars, there is no shortage of organizations, some more organized an d prone to violence than others, competing to control the valuable trafficking routes. Because the entire drug trafficking market exists outside the reach of law, these organizations cannot use legal methods, such as the court system, to maintain control of their trafficking routes. As such, violence emerges as the only practical option for the cartels to hold their grip on such large profit margins. This narrative is seen playing out every day in Mexican border towns. On December 11, 2006, Mexican president Felipe Calderon initiated Operation Michoacà ¡n - a joint effort by the Mexican military and Federal Police to prevent drug trafficking. The initiative called for over 50,000 Mexican Army troops and 35,000 Federal Police to be stationed throughout the country (Keralis). Street corners throughout Mexico were inundated with heavily armed soldiers and random inspection checkpoints became commonplace. Armed and violent conflicts between the cartels and judicial police occur regul arly and often employ such weaponry as fully automatic assault rifles and hand grenades. Cartels have even been known to bullet-proof civilian vehicles using hardened steelShow MoreRelatedMexican Drug War Outline816 Words   |  4 PagesCarpenter, Ted. Undermining Mexico’s Dangerous Drug Cartels. Cato Institute. N.p.. Web. 23 Jul 2013. lt;http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/undermining-mexicos-dangerous-drug-cartelsgt;. Al-Eryani, Ausan. Mexico’s drug war effects US as well. Collegiate Times. Virginia Tech. Web. 23 Jul 2013. lt;http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/18328/mexicos-drug-war-effects-us-as-well/p2gt;. Grillo, Ioan. US troops aid Mexico in drug war. Global Post. N.p.. 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