Maria Molinero Elizabeth Richardson Final 6/11/2012 Mexico's Drug War and United States Drug Consumption Is there

a country to blame for the drug war in Mexico? The United States is well known to be the number one consumer of drugs that range from marijuana, methamphetamines, opium, crack, cocaine, crystal, and other synthetic drugs. On the other hand, Mexico is the number one provider for this drugs and as an exchange, American's drug consumers provide Mexico's cartels with weaponry. Mexico does not have the same security standards on its border as the United States, so it is easier for drug traffickers to bring back high quality guns to Mexico. The Mexican drug war has been going on for over two decades, but for the last four years it has amplified to the whole Mexican nation. Since President Calderon took the presidency in 2006, one of his main concerns has been to end organized crime, but unfortunately the corruption has taken over the whole Mexican nation . Mexico has turned in one of the most dangerous countries in the world because of the United States drug demand. Everyday various states of the Mexican nation witness the dreadful crimes on their streets. Some of the cruel acts that drug dealers have made include public displays of battered human heads, body parts left onto plazas or placed on car rooftops, some thrown outside schools; mutilated torsos hanging from meat hooks and disfigured faces from the torture that victims suffered before being executed. There have been big banners hanging on main streets, written with human blood that threaten and taunt rival cartels . Some of the messages also threaten Mexican citizens by informing them that if they do not cooperate, they might be the next victim. According to the article of Francisco E. Gonzalez (2009) "Mexico's Drug Wars Get Brutal," he

author points out that "most Mexicans, rich and poor, have a psychological leap of generalized fear and a perception of acute vulnerability coincided with an increase in gruesome displays of barbarism since the spring of 2006." Cartels have murdered thousands of people either working for them or innocent people who unfortunately are in the wrong place when the attacks go down. They fight over United States costumers and for territory. The United states consumes drugs and the Mexican cartels fight over the huge spoils of money that the drug trafficking produce. Not all of the profits come from drugs, the drug traffickers demand money from the poor to buy them protection. The corruption makes importation of firearms and exportation of drugs possible. Drug traffickers acquire all the weapons they need from the free market in firearms at the north of the border and make appropriate payment to any official who holds his/her hand out. Mexico is not the only country affected by corruption, The United States has had individuals that are said to participate with the Mexican cartels. According to Corchado in "The Wilson Quarterly" article "Thomas Frost of the US Department of Homeland Security says that last year the department accused 839 of its own agents of corruption,". Mexican citizens do not trust the government because of the high corruption that exist, it has even said that previous presidents and even the current president have a pact with the drug traffickers. There are the two cartels that are believed to be most dangerous of all the cartels in Mexico. These two organizations are El Cartel De Sinaloa and the Cartel Del Golfo. El Chapo Guzman is said to be protected by the government and by the people he threatens. Livesey (2010) portrays that "the Sinaloa drug cartel as Mexico's most powerful drug-trafficking organization, run by Joaquin (El Chapo) Guzman, the richest drug trafficker in North America and the second most wanted man in the world after Osama bin Laden for whose recompense

stands at five million dollars"(p. 2).. The Cartel Del Golfo does not agree with the tactics of El Chapo Guzman to acquire power that is why the Cartel Del Golfo is trying to help the authorities capture El Chapo, but El Chapo has penetrated even the US embassy to siphon off a stream of intelligence attacks for future operations against drug traffickers. It is obvious that even the army is participating on the drug war, instead of protecting Mexican citizens. In Mxico is either you work for the cartels or your family will pay for the consequences of your refusal. The corruption is helping El Chapo's empire get bigger, so that his cartel will control the northern part of Mexico and if authorities maintain the corruption El Chapo might even control the whole Mexican nation. In 2008, the cartels publically tried to make an arrangement with the government, but the President Calderon denied an arrangement between the cartels and the government. The cartels suggested the president to remove his army from the public routes and let the cartels import weapons and export drugs. Instead of agreeing to the pact, the President sent more soldiers to guard the main streets and the border. The President even asked the United States for help to end organized crime. The President denied a pact, after the cartels received the response, they felt rage and started attacking government offices and officials who hold a position in the government. On the article, "Foreign Affairs" O'Neil describes the tactics they used to attack the government "Drug cartels have begun using guerrilla-style tactics: sending heavily armed battalions to attack police stations and assassinating police officer, government officials and journalists even in broad daylight. And later uploading videos of gruesome beheadings to YouTube"(p.1). The United States provides the money for the cartels and Mexican cartels provide Americans with drugs. The United States is cooperating with Mexico to stop drug traffickers by

arresting them and deporting them to Mexico. Mexico does not have the same imprisonment rules, so about two weeks after their deportation , they start working for cartels again. Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez were one of the most famous attractions for college students to go for spring break, underage students could buy drugs, alcohol and cigarettes without an age restriction. Now, It is dangerous for an American to go to the border because of the high violence that Mexico has. There have been cases of American students missing, but the security depends on the places one visits. Most cartels have their territory and are always vigilant of strangers. The drug war has killed many victims of the organized crime . The death toll for this year currently stands at more than 1,100 (Anonymous, 2010). Drug traffickers are the main cause of the war and both societies have contributed to the problem: Americans for their high consumption of narcotics and Mexicans for the corruption of authorities. After my research I realized that is the high corruption in Mexico that makes the organized crime become more powerful. The President Calderon is just playing the game of being firm to defeat the organized crime. The Mexican people knows that the government is corrupt, there have been previous Presidents that took advantage of the Mexican people and Calderon is not going to be the exception of corruption. This drug war would never end unless there is only one cartel that rules the Mexican nation, or the corruption in Mexico ends, but that never is going to happen. None of the cartels are going to give up their power, their territory, or their abundant gold mine.

Reference List

Gonzlez, F.. (2009). Mexico's Drug Wars Get Brutal. Current History, 108(715), 72-76. Retrieved May 15, 2010, from Research Library Core. (Document ID: 1641412901). Corchado, A.. (2009). A Fighting Chance. The Wilson Quarterly, 33(2), 18-23. Retrieved May 14, 2010, from Research Library Core. (Document ID: 1957508281). O'Neil, S.. (2009). The Real War in Mexico. Foreign Affairs, 88(4), 63-0_7. Retrieved June 15, 2010, from Research Library Core. (Document ID: 1768605621). Bruce Livesey. (2010, June 12). Trafficking in power; Mexican government and military higherups take sides in cartel war, investigation shows. National Post,A.24. Retrieved June 15, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 2058096491). 20 Slain in Mexican city :MEXICO-VIOLENCE -1st lead-. (2010, June 11). EFE News Service,***[insert pages]***. Retrieved June 15, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 2056232841

Synthesis Paper

Length: 5 pages, minimum, and a works-cited page Number of sources: five, minimum Percentage of final grade: 300 points (30%)

Complete Rough draft due: June 8th (at the latest) in drop box. Final draft due: June 11th

Assignment Write a coherent, unified, and thesis-driven essay in which you use sources to answer a question at issue to you, your instructor, and your classmates. You are free to choose your issue, but it needs to be something that is debatable, something that two intelligent people would argue about.

Organization In the opening paragraph of your essay, introduce your question or problem, explaining its significance. Then present your thesis (governing idea), which should provide an overview or framework for what follows.

In the body of your paper, introduce and discuss the sources you consulted, comparing and contrasting their contributions, this is the synthesizing aspect of your assignment. Sequence your material logically. The organization of the body of your essay will be determined to a great extent by your thesis.

Conclude your essay by encapsulating the ideas in the body of your paper and discussing the implications of your thesis. Reference List Include a separate page listing all the sources you cited in your paper.

Submission Requirements Submit your final paper with assignment sheet.

Grading Criteria Your paper will be graded according to the following criteria.

Points

Criteria

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The thesis is a governing idea that responds to a question at issue to you, your instructor, and your classmates. It provides a framework for the body of the paper. The conclusion accounts for the significance and complexity of the question or problem posed. The essay demonstrates an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the sources used. Source information is presented so that members of the audience unfamiliar with the source can understand it. Sources are synthesized purposefully; that is, they are summarized, applied, challenged, or qualified to support the thesis. The sources are used inter textually. In other words, there is a purposeful discussion established among the sources and they relate to each other and to the main ideas presented in the paper. Words and sentence structures are appropriate for the given rhetorical situation. The essay is coherent and unified. Transitions are used effectively. Sources are used responsibly according to the APA documentation system. (Plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the paper and perhaps for the course as well.) The essay is free of proofreading errors. If any paragraph includes errors that obscure overall meaning, you may fail the assignment or be asked to revise your paper and return it by the next class. TOTAL (If you need help revising or editing your paper, go see the tutors in the library.)

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/20

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