[393] After the JFC broached this sensitive issue in its 2008 report, several journalists and academics subsequently discussed in print the possibility that Mexico could become a failed state. "[317], The drug control policies Mexico has adopted to prevent drug trafficking and to eliminate the power of the drug cartels have adversely affected the human rights situation in the country. [36] Since 2009 Vancouver, British Columbia became the main Mexican drug cartels' center of operations in Canada. [93] He further stated that the capture of one drug smuggler cannot be more valuable than the lives of innocent civilians,[94] and that even though they underestimated the cartel's manpower and ability to respond[95] the criminal process against Ovidio is still ongoing,[96] The federal forces have since deployed 8,000 troops and police reinforcements to restore peace in Culiacan. The Mexican-American War was fought between the United States and Mexico between 1846 and 1848. [196], After the emergence of the Knights Templar, sizable battles flared up during the spring and summer months between the Knights Templar and La Familia. During the early 2000s the Zetas were instrumental in the Gulf Cartel's domination of the drug trade in much of Mexico. December 14 â A convoy of U.S. military members was seen crossing the U.S-Mexico border from Brownsville, Texas into Matamoros, Tamaulipas. Since 2011, the Juárez Cartel continues to weaken;[175][176] however, holds presence in the three main points of entry into El Paso, Texas. Following is a timeline of key events in Mexico's drug war. Human Rights Watch, Military Injustice: Mexico's Failure to Punish Army Abuses (New York: Human Rights Watch, December 2001). [153], The Knights Templar drug cartel (Spanish: Caballeros Templarios) was created in Michoacán in March 2011 after the death of the charismatic leader of La Familia Michoacana cartel, Nazario Moreno González. "The 'War on Drugs' in Mexico: (Official) Database of Events between December 2006 and November 2011. [393] The Joint Forces Command is concerned that this internal conflict will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state over the next several years, and therefore would demand an American response based on the implications for homeland security alone. March 22 â Gunmen killed Ãdgar Garcia, a state police commander in charge of investigating kidnappings and extortion in the western state of Michoacán. [271], These accusations sent shock waves through state government. [178] It is based in Tijuana, one of the most strategically important border towns in Mexico,[179] and continues to export drugs even after being weakened by an internal war in 2009. [53], The government was relatively successful in detaining drug lords; however, drug-related violence spiked high in contested area along the U.S. border such as Ciudad Juárez, Tijuana, and Matamoros. In June 2007, President Calderón purged 284 federal police commanders from all 31 states and the Federal District.[112]. [273], In March 2009, President Calderón called in an additional 5,000 Mexican Army troops to Ciudad Juárez. The police were conducting an operation against criminal groups and drug cartels in Apatzingán, including the Knights Templar Cartel, a suspect. First, waves of elite armed forces and government security experts have left the government to join the side of the cartels, responding to large bribes and an opportunity for wealth they may not have received in government positions. [329], Another major concern is the lack of implementation of the Leahy Law in U.S. and the consequences of that in worsening the human rights situation in Mexico. The export rate of cocaine to the U.S. has decreased following stricter border control measures in response to the September 11 attacks.[115][118]. [259][260][261], One notable incident was the "Black Swan operation" where Joaquín Guzmán Loera was finally captured. [46], The balance of power between the various Mexican cartels continually shifts as new organizations emerge and older ones weaken and collapse. The fighting between rival drug cartels began in earnest after the 1989 arrest of Félix Gallardo, who ran the cocaine business in Mexico. [219], Women in the Mexican drug war have been participants and civilians. [319][334] Marginalization of these vulnerable groups by way of physical and sexual violence and extortion by police threatens the cross-over of infection from high-prevalence groups to the general population. [246] Grenade launchers are known to have been used against Mexican security forces, H&K G36s and M4 carbines with M203 grenade launchers have been confiscated. [128] The WEF further explained: "The powerful teachers union, the SNTE, the largest labor union in Latin America, has been in large part responsible for blocking reforms that would increase the quality of spending and help ensure equal access to education."[how?] October 18 â Mexican authorities seized 105 tons of marijuana bound for the U.S., representing the biggest bust in the history of the state of Baja California. During Calderón's presidential term, the murder rate of Mexico has increased dramatically. [119][120][121], Among the OECD countries, Mexico has the second highest degree of economic disparity between the extremely poor and extremely rich. From 2004 to 2008 the portion of the population who received less than half of the median income rose from 17% to 21% and the proportion of population living in extreme or moderate poverty rose from 35 to 46% (52 million persons) between 2006 and 2010. [60], However, in the first 14 months of his administration, between December 2012 and January 2014, 23,640 people died in the conflict. The U.S. government sent speedboats and night-vision goggles under a regional drug aid package. By Daniel Sabet. As of 2009, the group known as Los Zetas controlled more than half of the state of Tamaulipas and a quarter of the national territory, which made it the most dangerous organization in the country. Some analysts, like U.S. [392], The U.S. Joint Forces Command noted in a December 2008 report that in terms of worst-case scenarios, Mexico bears some consideration for sudden collapse in the next two decades as the government, its politicians, police, and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and pressure by criminal gangs and drug cartels. The DHS and others have dismissed these claims, pointing that the Mexican sample submitted for ATF tracing is the fraction of weapons seized that appear to have been made in the U.S. or imported into the U.S.[248][249], In 2015, official reports of the U.S. government and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) revealed that over the last years, Mexican cartels improved their firearm power, and that 71% of their weapons come from the U.S. [426], War between Mexico's government and various drug trafficking syndicates, Mexico is supported by the United States in this conflict through the. [361] In a case in San Fernando, Mexico, most of the dead had "died of blunt force trauma to the head. Hundreds of protestors are killed or wounded. [415][416] The U.S. DEA has noted that the U.S. and Mexican financial services industry continues to be a facilitator for drug money movement. That changed on December 11, 2006, when newly elected President Felipe Calderón sent 6,500 Federal troops to the state of Michoacán to end drug violence there. [84], On October 17, 2019, based on an extradition request sent to Mexico by a Washington DC judge[85] and misinformation provided to Mexican authorities,[86] a failed operation to capture alleged kingpin Ovidio Guzmán López was carried by the Mexican National Guard, in which fourteen people died (mostly from the armed forces and cartel enforcers and one civilian bystander). Well, it's easy as toast! The Juárez Cartel controls one of the primary transportation routes for billions of dollars' worth of illegal drug shipments annually entering the United States from Mexico. [390][391] Another 92 Americans were killed between June 2009 and June 2010. [394][395][396][397], The Mexican government responded negatively to the U.S. government raising the prospect of Mexico becoming a failed state. When enforcement efforts intensified in South Florida and the Caribbean, the Colombian organizations formed partnerships with the Mexico-based traffickers to transport cocaine by land through Mexico into the United States. To hear mid-20th century U.S. lawmakers tell it, marijuana is a Mexican drug. Mexican bootleggers supplied alcohol to the United States gangsters throughout the duration of the Prohibition in the United States,[35] and the onset of the illegal drug trade with the U.S. began when the prohibition came to an end in 1933. [306], The extreme violence is jeopardizing foreign investment in Mexico, and the Finance Minister, Agustín Carstens, said that the deteriorating security alone is reducing gross domestic product annually by 1% in Mexico, Latin America's second-largest economy. This Mexico presidential candidate is pushing for forgiveness, "Coordinadores de AMLO aclaran: amnistía no será para capos del narcotráfico", "AMLO pide a militares unirse a Guardia Nacional", "Is Mexico's New National Guard Just Another Uniform? [340] In the first years of the 21st century, Mexico was considered the most dangerous country in the world to practice journalism, according to groups like the National Human Rights Commission, Reporters Without Borders, and the Committee to Protect Journalists. When enforcement efforts intensified in South Florida, Institutional Revolutionary Party § Overview, Enrique Peña Nieto § Presidency (2012–2018), List of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords, Narcoculture in Mexico § Drug production in Mexico, sexual assault of migrants from Latin America to the United States, leftovers from past conflicts in Nicaragua, United States Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, National Human Rights Commission (Mexico), List of politicians killed in the Mexican drug war, Allegations of CIA drug trafficking § Mexico, List of journalists and media workers killed in Mexico, "Policías comunitarios retiran bloqueo carretero en Guerrero tras 23 horas", "How Mexico's guerrilla army stayed clear of organized crime", A new post combating an ever-evolving threat, "Database – Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP)", "Las alianzas criminales del CJNG para expandirse en México", "El narco en México recurre a violencia sin precedentes: ONU", "These maps show how Mexican cartels dominate the U.S. drug market", "Here are the powerful Mexican drug cartels that operate in the U.S.", "El Salvador Fears Ties Between Cartels, Gangs", "Mexican drug cartels reach into tiny Belize", "Four Gunmen Die in Clash with Mexican Troops", "EXCLUSIVE: 100,000 foot soldiers in Mexican cartels", "Mexico Federal Troops and police rush into Juarez to try and retake the city", "U.S. Says Threat of Mexican Drug Cartels Approaching 'Crisis Proportions, "El sexenio deja 395 militares muertos y 137 desaparecidos", "México cuenta más muertos por la "violencia extrema, "Oficial: más de 22 mil 700 muertos por violencia", "Mexico - UCDP - Uppsala Conflict Data Program", "U.S. Special Forces Trained Mexican Troops in Colorado", "The Mexican drug wars: Organized Crime, Narco-Terrorism, Insurgency or Asymmetric Warfare? The Mexican attorney general's office has claimed that 9 of 10 victims of the Mexican drug war are members of organized-crime groups,[294] although this figure has been questioned by other sources. 1." During that same period, there have been at least four elite special forces created as new, corruption-free soldiers who could do battle with Mexico's endemic bribery system. October 22 â Police capture boss Jesús Zambada GarcÃa of the Sinaloa cartel after a shootout in Mexico City. Guatemala has also arrested dozens of drug suspects and torched huge cannabis and poppy fields. Stanford University Press, May 2, 2012 – Political Science – 296 pages. [347], About 74 percent of the journalists killed since 1992 in Mexico have been reporters for print newspapers, followed in number by Internet media and radio at about 11 percent each. The most common weapons used by the cartels are the AR-15, M16, M4, AK-47, AKM and Type 56 assault rifles. [111], Although Mexico accounts for only a small share of worldwide heroin production, it supplies a large share of the heroin distributed in the United States. The Mexican Drug War is an ongoing battle taking place between the Mexican government and the heavily-armed drug cartels. [277][278][279][280] Some groups have also been known to use improvised explosive devices (IEDs). [308], Mexican cartels advance their operations, in part, by corrupting or intimidating law enforcement officials. [58], In 2012, newly elected president Enrique Peña Nieto, from the PRI party, emphasized that he did not support the involvement of armed American agents in Mexico, being only interested in military training of Mexican forces in counter-insurgency tactics. One such paramilitary group, the Los Zetas, employed military personnel to create one of the largest groups in Mexico. [72] Obrador pointed out that the past approaches failed because they were based on misunderstanding the core problem. October 22 â Gunmen kill 14 people at a boy's birthday party in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. The drug operation allegedly brought 1.5 to 2 tons of cocaine every month to Chicago from Mexico and shipped millions of dollars south of the border. In May 2010 an NPR report collected allegations from dozens of sources, including U.S. and Mexican media, Mexican police officials, politicians, academics, and others, that Sinaloa Cartel had infiltrated and corrupted the Mexican federal government and the Mexican military by bribery and other means. Timeline of the Mexican Drug War The timeline of some of the most relevant events in the Mexican Drug War is set out below. Directed by Matthew Heineman. Guzman's defense was that he was simply a fall-guy for Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, but prosecutors did not buy that. It was formerly allied to the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, but split off and became an independent organization. Seven men were found shot on the side of the road in, March 27 â Ten people were reported killed in a shootout in. [77], However, on January 30, 2019, Obrador declared the end of the Mexican war on drugs,[78][79] stating that he would now focus on reducing spending,[80] and direct its military and police efforts primarily on stopping the armed gasoline theft rings —locally called huachicoleros— that have been stealing more than 70 thousand barrels of oil, diesel and gasoline daily,[81][82][83] costing the Mexican economy around 3 billion dollars every year. [147], Félix Gallardo still planned to oversee national operations, as he maintained important connections, but he would no longer control all details of the business. [375], According to the United States government, Los Zetas control 75% of Guatemala through violence, political corruption and infiltration in the country's institutions. By the mid-1980s, the organizations from Mexico were well-established and reliable transporters of Colombian cocaine. rate. At least one dozen Mexican norteño musicians have been murdered. Twitter users have been tortured and killed for posting and denouncing information of the drug cartels' activities. [52] As time passed, Calderón continued to escalate his anti-drug campaign, in which there are now about 45,000 troops involved along with state and federal police forces. Federal law enforcement has been reorganized at least five times since 1982 in various attempts to control corruption and reduce cartel violence. That is why in November 2010 the Mexican army, together with the Federal Police and the Navy, extended their activities and launched an operation around the north of the state of Tamaulipas, allowing hundreds of families to return to their homes after months of exile in other states, mainly in municipalities such as Mier, where around 4000 people return. According to the three men, the CIA was collaborating with drug traffickers moving cocaine and marijuana to the United States, and using its share of the profits to finance Nicaraguan Contra rebels attempting to overthrow Nicaragua's Sandinista government. The United States has stepped in to offer support in the "War on Drugs" through funding, training and military support, and transforming the Mexican judicial system to parallel the American system. [213][214][215] Since 2017, the cartel has been engaged in a war with the CJNG. December 28 â Around 60 gunmen stormed the small, indigenous town of Tierras Coloradas, Durango. This made him the 1140th richest man in the world and the 55th most powerful, according to his Forbes magazine profile.
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