On February 15th in San Luis Potosi, Mexico there was an attack—believed to be by Mexican cartel members—on two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents. This is one of many drug-related violent attacks in the last 5 years.
In 2006, the Mexican government, under the direction of President Felipe Calderón, declared war on the Mexican drug cartels that had previously been left alone—these cartels deal with drugs, arms, and human trafficking, a multi-billion dollar industry. Also, those involved in the drug trade, police officers, as well as innocent by-standers have been blackmailed, terrorized, kidnapped, tortured, and brutally murdered. It is estimated that about 35,000 people have been murdered since the Drug War began.
Is what being done by the U.S. and Mexico effective in combatting these drug cartels? How many people must die before we win this “war”? The legalization and regulation of the drug trade is definitely a way to reduce drug related violence occurring in Mexico, but unfortunately it is still not considered a viable option by those in power.
Currently the U.S. has contributed to the Mexican war on drugs through the Merida Initiative, spending $1.5 billion for equipment and training of Mexican forces. The New York Times stated that in 2010 a new strategy was developed that focused more on training than on providing equipment. This initiative expired at the end of last year but is likely to be continued by the Obama administration with a reduced budget.
The Mexican government is focusing on a new law enforcement structure that began to eliminate local police forces that tended to be controlled by these drug cartels.
Today in Mexico there is rampant police corruption, people are being murdered every day, and the drug cartels have more weapons than those working for the government. You just have to look at the news. Last August, the Mexican government had to fire 10% of their federal police force due to corruption.
I don’t believe that encouraging this war is beneficial. Gil Kerlikowske, of the Office of National Drug Control Policy admitted last May that the war on drugs as been going on for 40 years and not much progress has occurred.
But the U.S. government still naively supports this war.
Hilary Clinton gave an interview with Mexican journalist, Denise Maerker, on Jan 31, 2011 about the Mexican war on drugs. I found this excerpt especially interesting and would like to point out some flaws in her viewpoint.
QUESTION: In Mexico, there are those who propose not keeping going with this battle and legalize drug trafficking and consumption. What is your opinion?
SECRETARY CLINTON: I don't think that will work. I mean, I hear the same debate. I hear it in my country. It is not likely to work. There is just too much money in it, and I don't think that – you can legalize small amounts for possession, but those who are making so much money selling, they have to be stopped. They can’t be given an even easier road to take, because they will then find it in their interest to addict even more young people. Mexico didn’t have much of a drug problem before the last 10 years, and you want to keep it that way. So you don’t want to give any excuse to the drug traffickers to be able legally to addict young people.
There are a few things I see wrong with her answer.
First I would have to agree with Reason Magazine that Clinton clearly misses the idea that drug traffickers make all the money that they do because the selling of drugs is illegal. With regulation they would be forced to find another means of revenue. A study by the Rand Corporation shows that the legalization of marijuana in the U.S. could “eliminate all of the profits the Mexican drug cartels currently make,” which would be a 15-26% reduction in their revenue.
Second, the idea that legalization will increase incentives to addict young people sounds far-fetched. One would think that those selling drugs would have the same level of incentives as long as there is “so much money in it.”
In fact, if drugs were legalized I believe that drug use would increase very little. From my experience, although I have never done so, it is fairly easy to get a hold of drugs whether they are legal or not, hence legalization won’t increase the number of users significantly.
Now there is some change of opinion in Mexico and there are those in favor of drug legalization.
"We have to take all the production chain out of the hands of criminals and into the hands of producers… I believe that violence against violence doesn't work. It only unleashes more violence and a conflict of the size we have in Mexico… It is not only in people's income, in investment, but also in the collective psychology.”
Fox refers to legalization in both Mexico and the U.S. This former Mexican official brings up a very important point. “Violence against violence doesn’t work” and the 35,000 deaths so far is too high. Something else needs to be done.
But what does the recent attack on the U.S. immigration officers have to do with these overall decisions (besides the fact that any death should be a cause for concern)?
The motives for the attack are still unknown, but if it was a planned attack, one of the motives might have been to escalate the current Mexican war on drugs even further.
Janet Napolitano, the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, said, “let me be clear: any act of violence against our ICE personnel or any DHS personnel is an attack against all those who serve our nation and put their lives at risk for our safety…We remain committed in our broader support for Mexico's efforts to combat violence within its borders." I think the last time we heard a patriotic statement like this, was when U.S. forces went into Afghanistan; they still haven’t left.
I find it ironic that the continuation of this war on drugs and the anti-legalization sentiment benefits the drug cartels themselves; it keeps them in business.
With the deaths, the corruption, and the continuous drug trade, not to mention the human trafficking, I think Mexico and the United States need to take another course of action. It would seem that those in power, like Hilary Clinton, do not understand the reasoning behind legalization and it is definitely an option that these people need to reconsider.
Despite my views, I will admit that legalization will not solve our societal problems of drug abuse nor will it completely wipe out the existing drug cartels. But it would make an impact and reduce the drug related violence that has been devastating Mexico since 2006.
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